


Kingdom Hearts: The Heart of All Worlds

by Rikusqueenofhearts



Series: Dark Seeker Fanfiction [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Autistic Character, Autistic Female Character, Comedy, Disney, F/F, F/M, Fantasy, Keyblade Wielder Kairi (Kingdom Hearts), M/M, POV Female Character, POV First Person, POV Male Character, Polyamory, Queerplatonic Relationships, Riku In Love (Kingdom Hearts), Tags May Change, Trans Character, Trans Male Character, Trans Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:34:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 37,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29439801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikusqueenofhearts/pseuds/Rikusqueenofhearts
Summary: Sora has always felt out of place in the world. Now that he has come out as trans, when his world suddenly vanishes, he is considered a chosen prince of the Keyblade to save the world. But being a hero isn't all as it seems.Kairi is a girl who needs to know where she came from before she arrived on Destiny Islands, and retrieve her memories. When Destiny Islands vanishes, and is given a Keyblade, she soon realizes seeking out the truth may be more harmful than good.Riku is willing to risk everything. Especially if it means saving the ones he loves. However, he doesn't realize going into the darkness will cost him more than just his life.Meg has always known that she was different. Suddenly a hero now, she finds herself too scared to take a risk. But when a loved one goes into darkness, she realizes that running away isn't an option anymore.Cat is sick, and always has nightmares of others dying. When she realizes someone intends to risk their life for her, she feels more at fault than ever. But when she finds out who she really is, she realizes now the danger that she's in.This is part one of the Dark Seeker Saga, part of the Kingdom Hearts fanfiction series one book one.
Relationships: Kairi (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Female Character(s), Kairi/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Original Female Character(s)/Original Female Character(s), Riku (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Female Character(s), Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Sora (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Dark Seeker Fanfiction [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2162451
Kudos: 2





	1. Prologue: Sora

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is just something I wanted to do. I've actually had this written a while ago, but I wanted to wait and see how I felt about it when I went back to it. So I honestly feel really good about this one. I'm not a trans boy myself, but I do know people who are trans and have studied a lot about it based on primary sources, and I write for them too, not just myself. Sora just gives me trans vibes for some reason, so I thought I would try it out. This is also what I've always wanted as a child story wise and pairing wise, but never felt free to do it. I was always paranoid and restricted. So now, I write for myself, and I write for my supportive readers. Thank you guys for believing in me. I write for me, and I write for you. There are five POVS: Sora, Riku, Kairi, and my two ocs, Meg and Cat. So... Enjoy! Prologue is in Sora's POV. Ch.1 will be in all of their povs in different parts.

I’ve been having these weird thoughts lately… Like is any of this for real… or not?

I didn’t know the answer to that. I wasn’t afraid though. This had to be a dream… or maybe it was real after all. So why wasn’t I afraid of the fact that I had been falling into darkness? I fell head first downward, distancing myself from the light above. Was I being dragged down by an unseen force? Was this punishment? Was I not meant to reach towards the light? When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the island, standing on the sand while seeing my silver haired friend in the distance, half his legs in the ocean.

Riku. Every time I saw him, it was as if something drew me closer to him. Something dangerous. Something heartbreaking. It was as if I was walking towards something I shouldn’t be moving towards. With Riku, it was as if he wanted to do something that had consequences, even if it meant saving the one he loved. But was trying to help someone else worth becoming a monster over? When I noticed large waves move towards him, he turned around towards me, smiling before reaching a hand out towards me. My sky blue eyes locked onto his aquamarine eyes.

I didn’t know what caused me to run towards him. I just did. I probably feared those waves would drown him. Instead of reaching for him, the waves crashed over us, sending us underwater. Yet Riku still stood in place as if he weren’t underwater, reaching a hand out towards me. I tried to reach out for him, but the water jerked me away. It was as if Riku was unreachable, having done something to the point that it was impossible to save him.

When I swam back up to the surface, I found a girl with auburn hair and purple eyes, her skin much paler than my brown one, on the sand, waving towards me. Kairi. I waved back and approached her. With her, in my dreams, she was impossible to reach sometimes. It was as if when I got closer to her, she slipped away again. Or, sometimes, I slipped away from her. In this case though, I was able to reach her… but not for long. She looked up at the sky, making me turn around to look.

A girl with black hair, pale skin, and freckles fell out of the sky. Megan. She had her eyes closed, falling into the ocean. With her, I always saw her this way. It was as if no matter how hard she tried to help others with her smile, bubbly personality, and kindness, she always seemed to fail in the end. Or maybe perhaps she was willing to fall to help someone get back up. It was as if she was willing to die for them. Sometimes though, she needed to put herself before others just to take care of herself. How was she supposed to help others if she didn’t put herself first?

Just as she vanished into the water, I found myself falling next. I looked up, trying to scream, but nothing came out of my throat. Kairi reached down for me, calling for me. But then, she vanished. I slammed into the ocean, sinking down into darkness. I could breathe underwater. Now I knew I must have been dreaming. Or was I? I didn’t know. I couldn’t tell the difference between dreams and reality anymore.

My legs moved below me, then pressed against the bottom of the ocean. It didn’t even feel like I was underwater anymore. When I tried to step forward, I noticed a flock of birds appear from below, flying above me. As they flew up, the ground transformed into glass, having a picture of a woman holding an apple with seven dwarves. Was this Snow White, just like the fairy tale? When the birds vanished, I was left in darkness. The only thing I could see was the ground, shining below me.

Then I remembered. I didn’t see Catrina in my dreams. Not at all. Yet I always heard her voice. In real life, she never spoke. Or at least rarely she did. In my dreams, she never showed up, but she was much more vocal. I wondered when her voice would appear. I wanted to hear her sweet voice. It was the only time I could hear her speak. I wished she would speak more loudly in real life, to not be afraid to speak.

I had often had dreams of having a male body, just a complete male body. I never once dreamed of having a female body, despite having that in real life. I knew I was a boy. I didn’t just choose to be a boy. I was already one. Maybe one day, it would come true when I was older. I wondered what people would think of me with a male body. I even had dreams of everyone calling me Sora rather than my dead name.

_ “So much to do, so little time…”  _ I could hear Cat finally speak, although I didn’t see her anywhere.  _ “Take your time, Sora. Don’t be afraid.” _ To hear her voice was like music to my ears.

_ “The door is still shut,”  _ I heard an unfamiliar voice say to me. Who was this? What were they doing in my dream?  _ “Now, step forward. Can you do it?” _

Of course I could do it. I knew how to walk. However, when I moved forward, there were three weapons that appeared on stone that also appeared. I had been ordered by Cat and the mysterious voice to pick one and get rid of one. I chose the sword as my weapon, then got rid of the shield. That seemed easy enough, right? Instead, the stones sank back to the ground. Then, the ground shattered around me, forcing me to fall into darkness.

I didn’t scream. I didn’t cry out in fright. I only found myself on another floor, a picture of a woman with blonde hair put up in a bun and a beautiful ball gown. I landed my feet on the ground, then the sword appeared in my hand. I had been instructed to try and fight. So I swung my sword just to see how it felt. It was a bit heavy to use. They told me to defend myself against any threats. I didn’t know what they meant until I saw it.

Something rose from the ground. It was a shadow with golden eyes. It was a bit small, but it looked dangerous, the claws on their feet and hands sharp as knives. They reeked of darkness. More appeared, rising from the ground. My eyes grew wide.  _ It’s just a dream. _ I just had to keep telling myself that. When they launched at me, I had to think fast. I raised my sword to block their attacks, then quickly swung my sword, slicing through them. I didn’t mean to slice them in one go, but what was I supposed to do? More would appear, then attack me. They would get harder each time, forcing me to fight. I have fought these guys before in my dreams, so I had an idea of what to do.

But then, they sunk back into the ground. I looked around to see the ground become darkness. Below me, which turned dark, I sank downward. I tried to get back up, but it was like quicksand, forcing me downward. I looked up and reached my hands up. I tried to scream, but no voice came out. I sank into darkness, disappearing. I kicked and tried to scream, throwing my arms around. Only to find myself on the ground again.

This time, it was a heart shaped design with pink and white coloring to it. It looked magnificent in a way. There was more to it, looking as though it could come from a castle. I sat up, then turned around to find a door there. Let me guess. More training? More monsters to come out? I approached the door quickly. I had been told to open it. So I did. Light shone through it, nearly blinding me. Did I have to go in there? I did, stepping inside.

I found myself back on Destiny Islands. My home! I was back home! Was I awake now? Was that what they meant by door? Until I heard Cat’s voice say,  _ “Hold on, the door won’t open just yet.”  _ So I was still dreaming…

_ “First, tell us more about yourself,”  _ the other voice said.

Tell them…? Didn’t they already know about me? I noticed Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka ahead. So this was what they meant… To go up to them, right? When I did, they started asking me a series of questions. What do I want out of life? What am I afraid of? What’s most important to you? It was those questions that I didn’t even know myself. I didn’t know how to answer them. What did I really want…?

_ “So you don’t know,”  _ Cat said to me.  _ “You’ll figure it out in time.” _

_ The day you will open the door is both far off and very near,” _ the other voice said to me.

When light flashed before my eyes, I found myself disappearing again. I found myself back in darkness. The floor had a picture of a blonde girl holding a rose. Ahead of me, I noticed a flight of stairs that led elsewhere. Should I go there? What would happen next? I took my chances and ran up the flight of stairs. I didn’t even notice that each would disappear behind me the further I went up. I only figured it out when I turned around and noticed it. Now I really had to keep going.

Once I reached the top, the floor had a picture of a brunette woman in a yellow dress. I noticed light above me, making me step forward. I looked up. If only I could reach for it. It was so beautiful. Yet I knew there were consequences for those who misused the light. Darkness was born in their hearts because of it. I knew the legend. Kairi told me the legend.

Long ago, there was light. The whole world was connected, and everyone adored the light. It was their protector, their savior, and their comfort. But then, people fought over that light. This caused darkness to be born in their hearts. Darkness was there when you were born, and it was there when you died. No one could escape the darkness after what happened. But the light was still there somehow, in the hearts of children. As long as people continued to have hope, that light would never die.

_ “The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes,”  _ both voices said in union.

When I turned around, I noticed my shadow had become larger. I thought that shadow wouldn’t move, only moving when I did. Instead, it rose up from the ground. I gasped in fright, watching the shadow with golden eyes stand on its feet. I stepped back.

_ “But don’t be afraid,”  _ Cat spoke.

How was I supposed to not be afraid!? My own fricken’ shadow was coming to life! The shadow became larger and larger, becoming a monster with a heart shaped whole on its chest. What had my shadow become? It was just like my other dreams too.

_ “And don’t forget…”  _ the other voice told me.

I didn’t even hear what else was said. I turned around and ran. However, when I reached the edge, I stopped. I remembered that those stairs had vanished. I was trapped with my own shadow. I turned around before that shadow slammed both hands downward, making me fall on the ground. Darkness below me appeared, starting to take over me. I was disappearing into the darkness. I tried to get up, but the dark vines from the darkness kept me down. No matter how many times I tried to outrun my shadow, it always caught up to me and killed me in the end.

_ “But don’t be afraid,”  _ Cat spoke just as I continued to struggle, turning and throwing my hands around, trying to escape.

_ “You hold the mightiest weapon of them all,”  _ the other voice said to me while I was becoming more restrained.

_ “So don’t forget,”  _ the voices said in union just as I had vanished into the darkness.  _ “You are the one who will open the door.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's about it! I really hope it's okay! I've tried my best ^^- Kudos and comments are always nice if you enjoyed it! I promise Ch.1 will be longer!


	2. Chapter 1: The Destiny Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's another chapter! This one has all five povs so it's going to be pretty long. I hope you enjoy the chapter! :D ENJOY!

**~Kairi~**

Every time I tried to think about where I came from or what happened to me, nothing came to mind. I have had people tell me that I had a freak out moment, like I saw a monster. Yet I remember no such thing. They claimed I must have been having flashbacks. Again, I never remember such a thing. Where did they get that idea? Why did I have such blackouts and not remember a thing? I tried to be as joyful and kind as possible, so it terrified me when I got to that state.

It made me afraid of finding out where I came from. What if I had another flashback and remember it this time? Sora, Riku, and Meg were all eager to go to other worlds. I was too, and I wanted to know where I came from. But Cat and I were the most worried, probably more so Cat. Cat must have just been scared of leaving her comfort zone. I was more so afraid of what I would find. That didn’t mean I didn’t want to go with them. I wanted to. I had to face my past.

Keeping all this in mind, I had gathered a few wood to help Riku build our large raft. I wondered how it would carry us to other worlds. I didn’t question it though. I just hoped it would work. Where were Meg, Cat, and Sora? Meg was probably looking for more stuff, Cat was probably having some quiet time before going back to work, and Sora was most likely being lazy. I decided to go search for them. I needed a break from work anyways. While Riku seemed busy finding more wood, I took my leave.

By the time I made my way to the other part of Destiny Islands, I found Sora laying on the sand, asleep. Just as I had approached him, he finally opened his eyes. He sat up to look out at the ocean just as I had stepped closer towards him. He yawned when I was close enough. He laid back down, only for me to look down at him, smiling. His eyes snapped open, looking up at me.

“Whoa!” he exclaimed, sitting up quickly. Just as he turned to me, sitting on his knees, I laughed. He said, “Gimme a break, Kairi.”

“Sora, you lazy bum,” I said as I leaned back before grinning at him. “I knew I would find you snoozing down here.”

Before he could say a word, we heard Megan shout, “HI, GUYS!” I turned to see her do a cartwheel before she slammed face first onto the sand. She looked up, face covered in sand.

“Hey, Meg,” I replied with a smile.

“What’s up!?” Meg asked, wiping the sand off her face. Not once did her bright blue eyes look at either of us in the eye. I had learned that she didn’t do it on purpose, but it was a skill she still tried to learn.

“Nothing much,” I answered, trying to get her to look at me in my violet eye the more I stood at her. She still avoided my gaze. “Catching Sora being lazy.”

“I wasn’t being lazy, I was just resting my eyes-” Sora paused. “WAIT! Is this another dream!?”

“What?” I asked, turning to look over at him.

“This has to be!” Sora exclaimed. “I must be back in the dream! Someone’s trying to mess with me!”

“What are you _talking_ about?” I asked.

He looked up at me. “No! This huge, black THING swallowed me up! I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t-” Meg had gotten up at that time, approached Sora, and smacked him on the head. “Ow! What was that for!?”

“You were acting crazy,” Meg answered.

“Are you still dreaming?” I questioned.

“It wasn’t a dream!” Sora exclaimed, then paused to think about it. “Or was it? I don’t know.”

At that time, I heard someone approach us. At first, I thought it was Riku. When I turned around, it was only Catrina, her medium length blonde hair swaying back and forth as she stepped forward. She moved to stand beside me. She was like a quiet mouse in our group. “Hey, Cat!” I spoke.

“Cat!” Meg exclaimed.

Cat nodded towards our direction, then looked over at Sora.

“What was that place? So bizarre…” Sora said, talking more to himself.

“What was?” Cat questioned, making Sora look up.

“Cat!” Sora exclaimed. “Where did you…?” He shook his head. “You were in my dreams! You were talking to me, trying to prepare me for a big event!”

“Was I…?” Cat asked, then looked away, not saying another word.

“Yeah, sure,” I said, then walked towards the ocean, past Sora.

Sora’s mind seemed to have changed quickly, because he asked me, “Say, Kairi, what was your hometown like? You know, where you grew up.”

I hated it when he asked me that question. I knew that was his way of trying to get me to remember, but nothing never came to mind. Didn’t he know by now that I wasn’t going to remember anything?

“I told you before,” I replied, not turning to look at him. “I don’t remember.”

“Nothing at all…?” Cat asked.

“Nothing,” I replied again.

“Do you ever want to go back?” Meg asked.

I thought about it for a moment. Did I want to go back? I feared what could happen if I did. But I knew the others wanted to see it. I wanted to see other worlds too. I guessed that it was better to take a risk than not do anything at all.

“Well, I’m happy here,” I answered.

“Really?” Meg asked.

“But you know… I wouldn’t mind going to see it,” I answered.

“I’d like to see it too,” Sora answered. “Along with any other worlds out there! I want to see 'em all!”

I turned around and smiled. “So what’re we waiting for?”

“Hey,” someone spoke, making us turn to look at them, “aren’t you guys forgetting about me?”

Riku. One of his muscled arms held a large log, his aquamarine eyes stood right at us, and his silver hair matched his somewhat pale skin. He looked like a type that could beat anyone in a fight, but also someone willing to help another out for a guy who was a year older than all of us. 

“So,” he spoke again. “I guess I’m the only one working on the raft.” He approached us just as he had tossed the large log towards Sora, forcing Sora to catch it. However, Sora slammed back against the sand when that log landed on him. He looked right at me and said, “And you girls are just as lazy as he is!”

I giggled. “So you noticed. Okay, we’ll finish it together.” I watched as Riku sat on the sand with Sora, who pushed the log away, “I’ll race you!”

“Huh?” Sora spoke.

“What, are you kidding?” Riku asked. “I’ve worked all day.”

“You sound like my dad,” I commented, laughing.

“Shut up,” Riku replied, trying not to laugh.

“Come on, you guys!” Meg spoke, getting in a running stance to race. “Where’s your spirit!?”

“Ready? Go!” I shouted.

Without thinking, those three raced, running ahead to the finish line. Cat and I were behind, running ahead to catch up to them.

**~Sora~**

Riku won the race as usual. Meg ended up in second place. I was third. One of these days, I would become stronger and faster than Riku. I knew it. We did tend to be competitive, but we still cared about each other. Despite him always beating me, I knew I would win someday. Riku was just a sore winner.

Cat was fourth place in the race. Kairi was fifth, although I think she allowed Cat to win on purpose. I was more and more concerned about Cat the more I looked at her. I heard her more in my dreams, and saw the way her body shrunk in size a bit. Was she sick? Was it from being born premature? I didn’t question it. I knew how uncomfortable it was to have your body questioned. I hated it when people questioned me about it. I just hoped Cat wasn’t hurting.

For the remainder of the day, I had to find some logs, blankets, and coconuts. Since others did whatever they could for the raft, it was my turn. I couldn’t help but feel envious about Riku. He was the popular guy who got everything done. He certainly had people crush on him while also wanting to challenge him. I wanted to be as strong as him. I wanted people to see me as a boy like how they saw Riku as a boy. I was an underdog with a female body.

It wasn’t my choice to be a male. It just happened. I knew I wasn’t a girl. I felt miserable hiding who I truly was. If I ever told my parents or anyone else… they would hate me. At least I was able to come out to my four friends, my sister, and my cousin a year ago. I knew the way people looked at me when I cut my hair to be more spiked up and boyish, and the way I dressed to look more masculine. Even the way I wore something to tighten up my chest to make it look like I didn’t have breasts. People just assumed it was a phase… until I told my friends, sister, and cousin. When I first told them who I was, going by the name Sora instead of my dead name, I nearly had a heart attack. I swore I thought I would be rejected.

Instead, I was met with a surprisingly different reaction. The reactions followed.

“I actually have a brother!” Sara would exclaim before hugging me.

“It’s about time you told us who you were,” Ian said as he rubbed my head.

“Holy shit, I actually have a guy best friend,” Riku replied with a grin.

“Thank you for trusting to tell us who you truly are,” Kairi said to me.

“We have another male best friend!” Meg exclaimed before hugging me.

Cat didn’t say much, but she did smile and say, “We love you, Sora.”

I wanted to cry. The fact that all of them had accepted me for who I was took a heavy weight off my shoulders. I had a great support system. I didn’t have to be called Aria anymore. I cringed at the name, wanting nothing to do with that name anymore. It was a dead name. Period. Yet that wouldn’t stop my parents from calling me that. Then again, they didn’t know. But once again, I knew they wouldn’t approve of this. I needed support from the others to be able to come out to more people, including my parents. Plus, I would need hormones to help me get by as a male, though my parents probably wouldn’t allow it.

Once I finally got all the materials I needed, I returned them to the others. We called it a day after that. Once it was sunset, we all sat by the paopu tree and watched the ocean ahead. We didn’t want to go home just yet. The five of us wanted to spend time together. My sister and my cousin can wait a bit longer for me. The four of us sat on the tree while Riku leaned against it with his arms crossed. None of us said a word for a moment.

Finally, I spoke. “So, Kairi’s home is out there somewhere, right?”

“Could be,” Riku answered without looking at me. “We’ll never know by staying here.”

“But… how far could a raft take us?” Meg questioned.

“Who knows?” Riku answered, although that came out more like a question. “If we have to, we’ll think of something else.”

“So, suppose you get to another world,” Kairi replied with a giggle. “What would you do there?”

It took a moment for Riku to think I suspected. “Well, I haven’t really thought about it. It’s just… I’ve always wondered why we’re here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds… Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else…” Riku turned his head towards the others. “Right?”

“I don’t know,” I spoke, leading back against the tree with my hands behind my head.

“I have no clue,” Meg replied with a giggle, raising her hands up halfway.

“Exactly,” Riku spoke again, proving his point before he moved away from the tree. “That’s why we need to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won’t change a thing. It’s the same old stuff. So let’s go.”

“You’ve been thinking a lot lately, haven’t you?” Kairi asked.

“Thanks to you,” Riku replied, turning to look at her, making me roll my eyes. “If you hadn’t come here, I probably would’ve never thought of any of this. Kairi, thanks.”

Kairi giggled. “You’re welcome.”

Cat hadn’t said a word the whole time. She was once again a quiet mouse. It took all my might not to glare at Riku. I felt envious of the fact that Riku knew how to talk to Kairi. I wondered if he was winning her over. I wanted Kairi. I wanted to talk to her and make her smile. Did she even like me that way? I knew people were put off by a trans person, so I was deeply afraid Kairi didn’t want me because of it. Or maybe Riku was just a charmer. I didn’t know.

It was weird. I had the same feeling for all four of my friends. I would get butterflies in my stomach, a smile would spread across my face, my heart would pound heavily against my chest, and I felt myself wanting to be closer to them than before. I wasn’t sure to call this romantic or just a regular bond, although it definitely went beyond just a friendship. I wasn’t sure what to call it. They said that it was called being romantically in love, but… was that really the case? Was that the only type of love there was? I was only fourteen! How was I supposed to know what this was?

Once it became darker, the five of us got off the Paopu tree and made our way across the bridge back to the beach. The girls went ahead. I followed behind before I heard Riku call my name. I turned around, only to see a fruit fly towards me, making me instantly catch it.

“You wanted one, didn’t you?” Riku asked.

I stood down at it. “A paopu fruit…”

As Riku walked towards me, he said, “If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They’ll remain a part of each other’s lives no matter what.”

Just as he walked past me, I thought about it for a moment. So that was the legend of the paopu fruit? It was said to be more powerful than a marriage. You couldn’t get a divorce if you wanted to. Of course, it was only a myth. Yet it still sounded interesting.

I turned around quickly and asked. “What if I wanted to share this with more than one person?”

Riku turned around and answered, “Sora, I meant romantically.”

“That’s what I mean,” I replied.

Riku gave me a confused look. My face became completely red. _Well, I just gave myself away…_ First, I came out as trans. Of course, all my friends, my sister, and cousin accepted me for who I was. But now to come out as having feelings for more than one person? I couldn’t even tell if they were even romantic or not.

Riku stood at me for a moment before he snorted, turned around, began to walk away, and said, “I knew you wanted to try it.”

“But, Riku-”

Riku began laughing. So much for sharing it with more than one person… I tossed the paopu fruit aside, into the ocean and followed Riku from behind. Once we arrived back to the beach, we got on each of our five boats and rowed back to the shores. Sara and Ian were probably waiting on me. Speaking of them, we would go home to the same parents. I don’t remember being adopted out as a baby, but Ian, Sara, and I were raised together with them. At least the three of us got to be together. Our parents were a bit strict, although I knew they loved us. But did they love me enough to accept me for who I was?

Once we arrived on the shores of our neighborhood, we all said our goodbyes to each other, then made our way back home. In the neighborhood, beside a house, Ian had just arrived, now standing beside Sara. I approached them. They both turned around to look at me. Sara must have just gotten back from hanging out with Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka. Ian must have gotten back from hanging out with Meg’s brother, Aiden.

What Ian saw in Aiden, I didn’t know. I thought Aiden was a complete ass. Then again, it was always just him and Meg, so he was the one watching over him. Their mother died before their father left them behind, forcing them to fend for themselves. I tried not to think about it. I tried to focus on the family I had.

“So!” I exclaimed. “How was both of your days”

“Shit,” Sara answered. “Riku managed to beat all three of my friends in one fight. They couldn’t even face him.”

“Sounds like Riku,” I answered. “If you want to avenge your friends, why not face him yourself?”

“Hell no!” she exclaimed. “I ain’t foolin’ with him!”

Ian laughed. “Cousin, you’re all talk, but then when it comes to facing people, you back out.”

“Shut up!” Sara shouted. “You’re no better with yours and Sora’s laid back attitude.”

“I’m less hot headed than Sora is,” Ian said with a grin.

“What’s that supposed to mean!?” I shouted.

Ian snorted. “Nothing. Come on. Our parents are waiting for us.” He looked over at me as the three of us made our way home. “So, when are you leaving?”

Sara and Ian knew I was departing from Destiny Islands to travel to other worlds. I had told them, and asked them to watch over our parents. They agreed, although they did admit they would miss me… especially miss picking on me, probably.

“Two days,” I answered.

“Are you going to come out to our parents?” Ian questioned.

“No,” I answered. “I’d rather not…”

“You’re going to have to say something to them,” Sara commented. “They’re already questioning why you cut your hair like that and dress all boyishly.”

“I’d rather just leave for other worlds and not say a word to them,” I replied.

Sara frowned. “You know we’ll miss you to death, right? You better come back to visit.”

“I will, I will,” I answered. “I promise.”

“Good,” Ian replied.

By the time we arrived home, we stepped into the house. Dad was on the couch reading a newspaper while Mom had just come out of the kitchen to set the table. The two of them turned at our direction.

“Hey, kids!” Dad replied.

“Ian, Sara, Aria!” Mom replied. “How was your day?”

I flinched at my dead name being used. I wished I could tell them not to do that, but they would realize who I was.

“It was fine,” Ian answered.

“Fine?” Dad asked. “Just fine?”

“Well, it was a good day,” Ian corrected. “We had fun.”

“Well, you’re going to have to grow up eventually and stop doing childish things on that island you go to,” Dad said. He always talked like that whenever we spoke. He just wanted us to be workaholics like he was and focus on money. Success meant money in his eyes. This was a guy who worked in the restaurant business. “Aria and Sara are entering high school, and Ian, you have to teach them the ropes too.”

“George,” Mom spoke. “Don’t be so harsh on them. They’re kids.”

“I mean it, Diana,” Dad replied to her. “It’s true. They have to learn sooner or later, and I prefer sooner.” He looked over at me. “Aria, why do you dress like that all the time? You even cut your hair weird.”

Mom sighed. “Your father and I are worried about you, Aria. Maybe one of these days we can get you a nice haircut and better clothes.”

I frowned.

Mom spoke again. “Aria, Sara, and Ian. Would you mind helping me set the food on the table?”

 _“That’s not my name!”_ I wanted to scream out loud.

“Sure,” I answered.

“Okay,” Sara replied.

“Yeah,” Ian replied.

We helped Mom set the table. Dad never helped with the table. He assumed that was a woman’s job. It was like how Mom and Dad nagged at me to clean my room, although I never do. Yet Dad tells Ian that a wife would do that for him. What timeline were we in again? We sat at the table, Dad made a prayer, which I didn’t really do, before we all ate the food together. We just talked about our days, Dad talked about his day at work, and Mom talked about her day at the house. Dinner was nice at least…

When dinner was over, Sara helped with the dishes this time while I hurried to my room quickly. I never wanted to get away so fast in my life. I resided in my room, laying on my bed in my messy room. I had to come out to my parents, but I didn’t know how. I knew they wouldn’t accept me. It was better to just leave this world and forget about this life for right now. I couldn’t wait to leave. I certainly couldn’t wait to tell my friends how I felt.

 _“Just confess to them and go bang one of your friends already,”_ the male voice inside my head said. I wish I had his voice. It was a voice that I wanted, really. But his attitude was the worst. _“You’re leaving anyway, right? Although, if you want one of them, I’d pick the blonde.”_

 _“Of course you would, asshole,”_ another male voice that was softer spoke. _“Just leave him alone. He’s in distress right now.”_

_“Like I didn’t know that? He needs to man up.”_

_“You’re a dick, you know that?”_

_“And you’re a wuss.”_

_“Shut up!”_

_“Can you both just shut up already!?”_ I screamed inside my head.

I never heard them speak for the remainder of the night. I had always had voices inside my head. They weren’t always there, but they come and go. I had to yell at them to stop. Once I knew they were quiet, I finally relaxed. Or at least I tried to relax.

**~Riku~**

By the time I made it home, my parents didn’t even speak. They acted as though they were afraid of me or something. They tried to shelter me as much as possible, yet didn’t know what to talk to me about. It was as if they walked on eggshells around me. What was so intimidating about me? They asked me how my day was, but that was it. I responded that it was fine, then they resumed making dinner. Once they finished and had me set the table, we all sat down to eat.

My mind wandered. I loved my parents, but they thought of me as a stranger. I didn’t know why. There must have been something wrong with me. I couldn’t wait to leave here. I wanted to see what was out there. I didn’t want to be sheltered anymore. I trained myself to fight, to stay strong, and protect those I loved. I had to see what was out there. Ever since Kairi arrived on the islands, it made me want to know more. Maybe we would find her home.

“You look tense,” Dad said to me.

“Do I?” I asked.

He nodded. “Something wrong?”

“Nothing,” I answered.

He didn’t push it after that.

Mom at least tried. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really,” I answered.

She said nothing.

I had a lot of things on my mind. I worried for Sora. I knew he was scared of his parents finding out about him. I didn’t blame him. They were too traditional. I worried for Meg especially. I hated her brother. He was a dick. I wished that I could punch and kick him. If it weren’t for Meg, I would have killed him. I was even scared for Cat. She was sickly, and I knew something in her was killing her. If only I could help her somehow. I would help her. Kairi… I just hoped she would get her memories back, to know where she came from. Yet I didn’t express my concerns to my foster parents.

When dinner was finished, I helped Mom with the dishes before going to my room. It was a decent sized house. At least I had my own balcony. Once I reached my room, I stepped out onto the balcony and looked out into the distance. I could see the island in the darkness of the night. I wasn’t afraid. I knew what would come in order for me to leave this island, to protect and save…

“This world has been connected,” someone said, making me turn around to my room. I didn’t think it was either of my parents by the sound of their voice. I had met this man in a brown robe and hood in the past, having seen him many times. He always appeared out of nowhere. I didn’t fear him. I needed this help. I never saw what he looked like under that robe and hood. “Sooner or later, the door will open. You will be able to leave this world.”

“And my friends would be with me?” I questioned.

“Yes,” he answered. “I know you’re thinking of _them_. Do you still wish to do what you have been told to do to save them?”

I nodded my head. “What do I have to do?”

A sinister smile seemed to have appeared. I didn’t fear him. I wasn’t afraid of the darkness.

**~Meg~**

When morning approached, I got ready to start my day. Of course, before I left my home, I could hear my brother ask, “Where are you going?” I flinched as he spoke, making me turn around to face those silver eyes. I quickly avoided them, uncomfortable with looking at even my own brother in the eye. We looked alike, although he looked more masculine than I did. He and I did have freckles. If it weren’t for the freckles, I wouldn’t have seen anything else that was kind. He glared at me.

“I was just going to the islands,” I answered.

“For what?” he questioned. “To leave? Even after what I’ve done for you?”

“Aiden, why are you like this?” I asked. “You’re always paranoid I’m leaving you.” Although, I really did plan to leave him tomorrow.

“Why do you think?” he asked. “I know you’re planning something.” He approached me, making me step back. “If you keep doing this, you might get hurt. I don’t want you to do something that could actually hurt you.”

“I’m fine,” I said without looking at him in the eye. “Really. I need to go.”

I turned around quickly, opened the door, stepped out, and closed the door back. I hurried to go towards the docks to my boat. I took a heavy breath before getting on it, then rowed my way through the ocean towards the island that was just over a hundred feet away. The waves weren’t so bad at least. I knew my brother had good intentions, or maybe he didn’t realize he was being selfish, but how he treated me… I wasn’t so sure how long I could stand it. I had to leave. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t miss him though. He was still my brother after all. He had never hit me or anything like that, but his words were too harsh, as were his manipulative games.

By the time I reached the islands, I got off my boat and stepped onto the docks. No one was around here. They must have been in the back of the island. I made my way there. My black hair swayed back and forth as I moved my feet against the hot sand. Good thing I was wearing blue tennis shoes. By the time I reached the back, I didn’t see anyone there. I made my way towards the raft. Once I reached the raft, I noticed Kairi there, fixing up a star made up seashells. It must have been her lucky charm. I approached her.

Kairi looked up at me and smiled. “Hey, Meg!”

“Hey!” I exclaimed.

Kairi paused, staring at me. I tried to avoid her gaze.

“What?” I asked.

“You look sad,” Kairi commented.

I paused. “The fact that you’re able to detect that amazes me.”

“Is it Aiden again?” she asked.

“It’s nothing,” I answered.

“That’s a yes.”

“Kairi…”

“Why do you stay with him, especially the way he treats you?”

I frowned. “I can’t help it. He’s still my brother. I love him.”

“But if he’s toxic, you shouldn’t put up with him.”

“I can’t help it. He’s my only brother. I’ll miss him when we leave. I need to leave, I know. But I still love him.”

Kairi looked at me as if I were nuts. We fell silent for a few seconds. I took a deep breath. Kairi was the one to say, “Why don’t you stay with me for tonight until tomorrow? Then we can leave with the others after we leave my place.”

“Kairi, you don’t have to-”

“I want to. You’re my best friend. My parents wouldn’t mind.”

“Isn’t your dad strict?”

“Just because he’s the mayor doesn’t mean he doesn’t allow sleepovers. Mom would especially allow it.”

“Aiden wouldn’t allow it…”

“Forget what Aiden thinks. You won’t have to see him again.”

That was the problem. He was the only family I had left. If I didn’t have him… I would have no one. Sure, I had my best friends, but I always feared something would happen to where we didn’t care for each other anymore. I didn’t want to lose anyone. We turned our heads to see Cat approach us. She looked sickly for some reason. Even more so, really. She always wore those long black gloves. Could it have something to do with her hands and lower arms?

“Hey, Cat!” Kairi greeted.

“Hey!” I greeted.

Cat nodded her head in our direction.

“You know us, Cat,” Kairi spoke. “You don’t have to stay quiet. Don’t you know us by now? You’re our best friend.”

“I know,” Cat answered. “I’m just not very talkative. I don’t know what to talk about.”

“Well, did you sleep well?” I asked.

“I did,” she answered. “Kind of.”

“What do you mean kind of?” I asked.

“It’s a long story,” Cat answered.

“Have you seen Sora and Riku?” Kairi asked.

Cat nodded. “They were on their way here. They’re arguing about naming the raft.”

Oh, god, here we go again. They’re always so competitive and trying to be in charge. For Sora, I knew it was because he wanted to feel like a male. But wasn’t he already a male, no matter if he was trans? Riku was just a completely big sore winner. One of these days, he would lose. It wasn’t that I wanted him to lose. I just knew that he needed to lose to understand what it felt like. Maybe then he would be more compassionate about it.

“Maybe we should go see them,” I suggested.

“Let’s go,” Kairi replied.

The three of us made our way towards the other part of the island. We couldn’t help but crack jokes and giggle about going on an adventure together. By the time we reached the two boys, they were arguing over the raft. Sora wanted to name the raft Superman. Riku wanted to name the raft Highwind. They also argued about who would be captain. So they decided to settle it with a race. I didn’t even understand half of their conversation.

“Are you guys arguing again?” Kairi asked, making the two boys turn to her. “If you’re racing, then I’ll be the judge.”

“Cat and I can be the audience!” I exclaimed, moving to the side with Cat. Quickly, Sora and Riku got in place to race. Kairi stood to the side. I pretended to eat invisible popcorn. I moved my hand over towards Cat. “Popcorn?” Cat shook her head, making me move my hand back. I waited for the race to start.

“If I win,” Sora stated. “Then I’m captain, and we name the boat Superman. If you win-”

“I get to share a paopu with one of the girls,” Riku answered.

“HUH!?” Sora exclaimed.

“Deal?” Riku asked with a grin, raising a thumb up. “The winner gets to share a paopu with the girl of their choosing.”

“W- Wait a minute!” Sora exclaimed. “I thought-”

“Okay, on my count!” Kairi exclaimed, raising her hand up. “Three, two, one, GO!” She threw her hand down, then the boys took off in a hurry.

Sora stumbled a bit, probably stunned by what Riku said. I didn’t understand the meaning of their conversation. I didn’t even think about it for a moment. Once they were ahead, I blinked a few times, trying to think. A paopu with the girl of their choosing? I looked over at Kairi, who looked at me and said, “You know he’s kidding, right?”

“What was he talking about?” I asked.

“You didn’t know?”

Then it hit me. A paopu fruit… He meant a paopu fruit. I knew of the legend. I turned my head towards the ocean as my eyes grew wide. I looked at Cat, who looked as anxious as I did. I turned back to Kairi. My heart pounded heavily against my chest. “Wait, what- he meant-?” I gasped and covered my mouth, then started laughing. I removed my hand from my lips. “Thank god he’s kidding.”

Kairi giggled.

**~Cat~**

Riku won the race as usual. Of course, he admitted to Sora that he was only kidding about the paopu fruit incident. Although, he wasn’t kidding about being captain and picking the name Highwind. I didn’t care if Riku was joking or not. Kairi, Meg, and I were not prizes to be won. I hoped Sora realized that too. I didn’t care whether they meant it or not. We were our own people, not objects to have. Besides, I had other things to worry about too. My nightmares didn’t help me at all.

I’ve always had a dream of those I loved dying, disappearing into nothingness. I remembered hearing the words, “It’s dark in here.” I remembered tearing up each time when I woke up. In my recent dream, we had tried our hardest to escape shadows coming to kill us. It failed. I was the sole survivor, watching all my loved ones die while I could do nothing about it. I woke up in cold sweat, fearing I could have more dreams like that.

I had always feared death. I didn’t know what could happen to me when I died. Would I go to an afterlife? Would I end up in torment? Would I end up in a new life with no memory? Or would I be stuck in nothingness? I knew something in my body was killing me. I would need to face my death eventually. Yet I always dreamed of my loved ones dying instead. Why couldn’t death take me instead of them, even in my dreams? Could it be this was what I desired? For someone else to die instead of me? No. I didn’t want that. Of course not. Right?

Sora, Meg, and I made our way towards the cave to collect mushrooms for the trip. We would need to cook food during our journey, and bring plenty of water. Would this whole thing even work? I wasn’t even sure if we could make it out there with these items. Truthfully, I didn’t want to go. I preferred to be home. Yet I didn’t want all my friends to leave me behind. So I would go with them. I feared what was out there. I feared what it would do to me. I preferred to be in the only home I had ever known. We stepped inside the cave, only having bits of light from the sun entering the cave.

“I used to always go into this cave and try to open that door,” Meg commented as she pointed at the door on the cave’s walls. I just assumed that it was glued on there, since we had always been unable to open it. At this point, it was normal to see it there. “We never thought it was just a door there out of nowhere, attached to the wall with nothing behind it.”

“We’ve all done that,” Sora commented. “We used to try to open it together. I used to think there was a monster behind it.”

“You always think there’s a monster somewhere, even in your dreams,” Meg commented.

“Shut up!” Sora exclaimed.

I said nothing. I looked around the cave, seeing all the drawings on the walls. I was aware that I was the weird one in the group. No, they never made fun of me for it. But I was still the odd one out. If they ever knew what I could destroy with just my hands, if I weren’t wearing these gloves… I would be a dead girl. They would certainly abandon me. I wanted to tell them, just to see if they would stay with me. Yet I knew they wouldn’t. I didn’t want to be some sad girl with some kind of disease. At least they don’t remember the incidents with me using my hands.

“This is so cool!” Meg exclaimed. “We get to go on an adventure! Right, Sora? Sora?”

I looked over to find Sora on his knees, staring at a particular picture on the wall. Meg approached him, as did I. When I was close enough, I saw a picture of Sora’s face, along with Kairi’s face. I could tell that Sora drew Kairi’s face since he wasn’t the best at drawing. Kairi must have done Sora’s face. He placed a hand on the wall, staring at it. I knew he had feelings for her. It was evident. Soon, he took a rock and started drawing. He drew himself giving Kairi a paopu fruit. Once he finished, he did nothing but stare at it, dropping the rock.

“That’s so romantic,” Meg replied with a giggle.

“Yeah…” Sora replied.

“It is a romantic indeed,” an unfamiliar voice spoke, startling me and forcing me to turn my head towards a man in a brown robe and hood, hiding his face.

“Wh- Who’s there!?” Sora shouted, standing up and turning towards the man.

Who… was he? I had never seen him around here before. Was he new here? Was he one of those guys that just moved here? Or just someone who didn’t get out much?

“I’ve come to see the door to this world,” he answered.

“Huh?” Sora spoke.

“This world has been connected,” he replied.

“Wh- What are you talking about?” Sora asked.

“Tied to the darkness…” he answered, “soon to be completely eclipsed.”

Sora glared at him. “Well, whoever you are, stop freaking us out like this.”

“Wait,” Meg spoke, raising a hand to the side to stop Sora. “Wh- Where did you come from?”

“None of you do not yet know what lies beyond the door,” the man answered.

“So, you’re from another world,” Meg answered.

Another world…? I wouldn’t have guessed that. Despite Meg coming off naive at times, she certainly could be smart. Even Sora seemed stunned by the speculation. So was I.

“There is so very much to learn,” the man said. “You understand so little.”

Sora’s pride got the best of him. “Oh, yeah? Well, you’ll see. I’m gonna get out and learn what’s out there!”

“A meaningless effort,” the man said. “One who knows nothing can understand nothing.”

Sora turned his head towards the door, as did Meg and I. Did he mean this door? It was just a door attached to a stone wall, right? When we turned back, he was gone. He had vanished out of thin air. I would have thought I was hallucinating, but Sora and Meg saw him too. This was no hallucination.

“Should we tell the others?” Meg asked.

“No,” Sora answered. “They’ll think we’re crazy. At least we definitely know he’s from another world. Maybe we’ll see more when we leave here.”

“If you say so…” Meg replied.

“Let’s go back to the others,” Sora answered.

I had a bad feeling about this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are appreciated if you enjoyed it!


	3. Chapter 2: Meg, Kairi, and Sora

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 is up!! So, it doesn't actually bother me if a lot of people don't read it or anything like that. What's important is that I'm having fun with this. I hope the few readers I have are enjoying this too! Also, thanks for the bookmarks, people! :D I really appreciate it! So in this, pov characters are Meg, Kairi, and Sora. So enjoy!

**~Meg~**

I hated the sound of tapping noises and loud music. It always sent an uneasy feeling in me. I could hear tapping sounds when we passed by Tidus, who trapped his fingers on the side of the wooden clubhouse on the island, talking to Selphie and Wakka. They waved at us, but Tidus didn’t stop tapping his fingers on the wall. Wakka was playing loud music on his device, making me feel uneasy. I hurried past them quickly. I didn’t know why it didn’t bother anyone else. Probably because they weren’t me.

Once we returned to our friends and had everything gathered, I made my way across the beach, ready to go home. When I noticed Cat sitting on the sand across from me, I took my chance to go talk to her. I wondered what she thought of the incident with that guy that showed up. She never once said a word. I approached her. She looked over at me. I didn’t even realize how long I had stood at her before she turned her head. I had to quickly look away. I sat down beside her. 

“Hey,” was all I said.

“Hey…” she greeted.

“Weird, right?” I asked.

“Huh?”

“That guy that just randomly showed up?”

“Oh…”

“What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking he was a hobo or something.”

I couldn’t help but start laughing. “A hobo. Wow.”

Cat chuckled. “But, seriously, how did you know he was from another world?”

“Lucky guess, I guess…”

“I wonder where he came from…”

“Only one way to find out,” I replied. “We’re going to see other worlds!” Cat looked uncomfortable when I said that. Did I do something wrong? I frowned. “Are you okay…?”

Cat nodded. “I’m fine.”

I frowned. “Do you not want to leave?”

“I want to,” Cat answered. “I just… I’m nervous.”

“So am I,” I answered. “But it’s better to take a risk than not do anything at all.”

“I know… I’m just going to miss this place and my family…”

“We can always come back and visit…”

“What are you guys talking about?” we heard Riku ask, making us turn our heads towards him.

“Leaving,” Cat answered.

“Oh,” he replied. “Exciting, right?”

Neither of us said a word.

“What?” he asked, approaching us. “Aren’t you excited?”

“I am,” I answered. “I can’t wait to see what’s out there.”

Riku sat down beside me before looking over at Cat. “And you?”

Cat frowned. “Ah… just nervous.”

“There’s nothing to be nervous about,” Riku stated. “It’ll be great.”

Riku was a typical teenage boy. Of course he wouldn’t understand how Cat felt. He was just too excited to leave. I wondered why… He seemed desperate to leave this place. Didn’t he love his home like Cat did? Like I did? I hoped Riku would want to come back and visit.

“I know,” was all Cat said.

“It’ll be great,” I commented.

“So, how are you both  _ really _ feeling?” he asked. “Surely you’re not backing out, are you?”

“We’re not backing out,” I answered.

Cat shook her head.

He nodded. “Got it.”

“Hey, uh… I really need to go,” was all Cat said before she stood up. “I want to be refreshed for the day tomorrow. See you later.”

“Oh, okay! Bye, Cat!” I replied, waving at her.

“See ya,” Riku replied.

Cat turned and walked away.

“I wonder if she actually cares about us or if something’s preventing her from opening up to us,” Riku stated.

“She does care,” I said. “You know how she is… She’s not very talkative and open. I mean, it could have been worse. She could have been like me at three years old and not have spoken at all.”

“Yeah, but when you started talking at four, I thought you’d never shut up,” Riku told me.

I snorted. “Cat’s just shy.”

“I wonder what made her that way…” he looked over at me. “How are you feeling?”

“About the trip?”

He nodded his head.

“I mean… I’m excited,” I answered. “I can’t wait to go.”

“Even if you’ll miss your damn brother?” Riku asked.

“I mean… when you put it like that, that makes it sound awful.”

“Because he is awful. I don’t even know what Ian sees in him.”

I knew Riku had a disdain for Aiden. It was no secret. I frowned as I looked away. I said, “Well, Kairi said that she was gonna let me spend the night with her before we left.”

“Why not stay here a little longer?” Riku asked. “I’ll be here.”

I paused. “You… want me to stay with you?”

“Why not? You’ve done that before, remember?” He asked. “Every time you didn’t want to go home, we just stayed here.”

“That got me in trouble with Aiden, though. He sent me to my room and didn’t let me go to the islands for a whole day. You would have to come get me.”

“I know… but just stay a little longer before going to Kairi’s place. Okay?”

I smiled at the suggestion. “Okay.”

**~Kairi~**

I tried to finish up the item in my hand before I looked up to find Sora approaching me. He looked slightly startled, but tried to hide it somehow. He put on a smile, trying to make himself look okay. I knew though. He saw something that startled him, or something was bothering him. Was it because of his parents? Did someone say something to him? He stepped closer towards me until we were face to face.

“Hi, Kairi!” Sora replied cheerfully.

I nodded. “Hey! Something wrong?”

Sora paused. “No. Why?”

“Just… wondering,” I answered.

Before I could press on, he asked, “What’cha making?”

“Oh, this?” I asked, looking down at the charm. “I’m making a necklace of thalassa shells. They were supposed to ensure a safe voyage. See this?” I held it out towards him. “It’s a charm to help us find each other if we ever get separated. The five of us will always be together. I’m still missing a piece.”

“Well, I actually found a shell that could match that,” Sora replied before he took something out of his pocket. “See?”

I gasped and quickly took it. “You found it! Thanks, Sora! I needed this.”

Sora grinned. “Don’t mention it!”

I giggled. “Are you tired? Want to call it a day?”

“I was thinking we could hang out at the docks,” he suggested.

“Sure,” I answered. “Let’s go then.”

We made our way from the raft to go to the other side of the island. We walked across the sand, not saying another word. We would glance at each other and smile. We giggled as we turned back to the docks. Once we arrived, we sat down on it, looking out at the ocean. I always thought Sora was cute, even before he came out as a male. He was a sweetheart, having a big heart and being kind to others, despite being lazy and stubborn. My mind went to Riku. I wondered why he was always so eager to leave this place since my arrival. Was something going on with him…?

“You know,” I said out of nowhere. “Riku has changed.”

“What do you mean?” Sora asked.

“Well…” I didn’t know how to explain it. I couldn’t put my finger on it. What was I supposed to say? It was hard, but it was obvious that Riku had changed. It was hard to explain. How was I supposed to explain it without Sora getting upset?

“You okay?” Sora asked.

I tried to change the subject. “Sora, let’s take the raft and go, just the two of us!”

“HUH!?” Sora questioned.

I giggled. “Just kidding.”

“What’s gotten into you?” he asked. “You’re the one that’s changed, Kairi.”

Have I really…? Maybe I have changed. Perhaps I went from a scared girl to an adventurous type. Or at least wanted to be adventurous. I had hoped to leave this island just to see where I came from and explore my past, along with seeing other worlds. I didn’t feel afraid anymore. I was actually kind of excited.

“Maybe,” I said. “You know, I was a little afraid at first, but now I’m ready. No matter where I go or what I see, I know I can always come back here.” I turned my head towards Sora. “Right?”

Sora turned his head to me and nodded. “Yeah, of course!”

“That’s good,” I said, turning my head towards the ocean again. “Sora, I’m so proud of you.”

“For what?” he asked.

“For coming out,” I answered. “You trusted us enough to admit to being yourself, as you should. The fact that you did that shows that you’re getting stronger, that you’re not afraid to be you… Sora, don’t ever change.”

“Huh…?” he questioned.

I stood up to my feet and looked out the ocean. “I just can’t wait. Once we set sail, it’ll be great.”

We both said nothing for a moment. I had hoped that Sora heard my words. I didn’t want him to change. I wanted him to remain good at heart. He was perfect as he was. I had already forgotten his dead name. It was better that way. He was Sora, and that’s how it would be.

“I’m going to hang out here a bit,” I replied.

“Are you sure?” Sora asked. “I can stay with you if you want.”

“No, you go ahead,” I told him. “I’m going to see if anyone else is here before going on. I’ll see you tomorrow, Sora.”

He smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow too, Kairi.”

“Good night.”

“Night.”

I turned around and walked away, leaving Sora there. I could feel his eyes on my back as I continued to leave. Once I didn’t feel his eyes on me anymore, I made my way towards the cave. I wanted to see that weird door one last time. I wondered if it would open. No, of course not. It was just attached to the wall, right? I didn’t understand why the adults couldn’t come on the island to take it down. Once I reached inside the cave, I was all alone.

It was getting darker inside the cave. I could barely see anything. I really had to go find my friends. My eyes were glued towards the brown door, unsure whether to try and open it or not. I decided that it wasn’t worth trying. It wouldn’t open anyway. I turned to leave. When I turned around, there was someone in a brown robe and hood, hiding their appearance. He spoke in a low, deep voice.

“Princess,” he answered. “The door will open at this moment.”

“Uh… who are you?” I asked.

He stepped forward towards me.

“Stay back,” I nearly shouted as I stepped back. “I’ll scream if you come closer.”

“No one can hear you,” he said, summoning some kind of large dark key in his hand as if it were a weapon. “They are not around here. Soon, the darkness will leave that door, and you will disappear.”

He suddenly swung the key towards me, making me jump back and scream. He raised his key upward, having me cornered. He swung down. I raised my hands up as if to defend myself. Before he could strike me, something appeared in my hand, another key that was filled with flower designs. He struck that key. I had blocked his attack. He tried to hit me again, but I would use the key to keep blocking him. I didn’t know how to fight. I didn’t know how to defend myself properly. So I kept blocking him.

“You have been chosen,” he stated.

“What?” I asked.

I turned around to find something leaking out of the door. It looked like darkness. I could only see it for a second before turning back to find him ready to attack again. I raised the key, having him attack before I blocked his attack. He spoke. “It seems you have no intention of losing your heart. Then perhaps the darkness will take you itself.”

“What are you talking about!?” I shouted.

When I shut my eyes for a few seconds, imagining that it was only a dream, I opened them back up to see that he was gone. Could I have imagined the whole thing? Then why do I still have the key in my hand? I turned to find the door opening. Something lurked inside, and now I knew it was a bad idea to have it open.

**~Sora~**

I still had not told my parents that I was a trans boy. They assumed that I was their daughter. I wanted to tell them the truth, but it was better to leave my home than to tell them the truth. Or at least in my opinion, it was. They would want me to leave anyway if they knew that I was Sora. I looked up at the ceiling, seeing a small wooden toy ship hanging by strings, with two dolls on it that reminded me of Kairi and I. I could still hear Kairi’s words in my head.

_ “I just can’t wait. Once we set sail, it’ll be great.” _

I could hear my mother call for me. “Aria, dinner’s ready. Come on down. Aria?”

Before I could get out of bed, I turned towards the window. There was a storm over the island. Specifically, over the island. It wasn’t even over in our neighborhood. “A storm?” I didn’t watch the news at all, so I replied on hearing the news from my parents. Then it hit me. “Oh, no, the raft!” I shouted. I quickly opened up the window and began to climb down. I didn’t care if I didn’t tell my family where I was going. I had to go protect the raft.

I jumped from the window, two stories down. I screamed for a second, then slammed onto my side, hard. I was grateful not to have broken any bones, although I did land on the grass. I quickly got up and ran ahead towards the docks. I hurried through the neighborhood, feeling the harsh wind hit my face. Once I reached the docks, the waves were rough, rising up before slamming against the sand. I got onto the docks and onto the boat. I undid the ropes and began to row ahead.

I felt bad for not telling my family that I was headed towards the island. Then again, would they have even allowed it? I didn’t think so. The waves were harsh, either pushing me back or to the side with the tide. I tried to row ahead towards the island. The waves would carry me around. I wasn’t strong enough to keep going, yet I tried anyway. Sometimes, I purposely went towards the waves that would carry me towards the island.

When I noticed one particular wave that was too large to describe, my eyes grew wide. It was just like my dream. I tried to row away from it. Big mistake. It slammed on top of me, sending me underwater. I lost air after that. I screamed underwater, then tried to swim up towards the surface. For a moment, I couldn’t find it, on the verge of drowning. Finally, my head popped up on the surface, making me gasp for air. I didn’t have time to catch more air. Another wave slammed against me, sending me underwater. I could feel the water drag me down, forcing me to keep kicking and throwing my hands downward.

I swam back up to the surface. I tried to swim towards the beach, but it was still too far, being fifty feet away. I noticed a bow row towards me. I looked up to see who was on it. She reached a hand towards me. “Sora! Take my hand!” Cat! She came back for me! I reached my hand up, letting her grab it. She pulled me onto the boat, making me climb on. I coughed as I laid on the boat for a moment. She quickly began to row with a rower as she shouted, “Hold on!”

I held on as tight as I could as the waves carried us towards the island. Cat was smarter than I was. She didn’t fight it. I did try moving with the waves, but I didn’t catch some of them in time, causing me to move the other direction. I looked up to see Meg on the docks, waving towards us. Cat made her way with the boat and I towards her. We were able to reach the docks, having us get off the boat.

When I got off the boat, the first thing I did was ask, “Are you two okay!?”

Cat nodded. “Are  _ you _ okay?”

“I am now,” I answered. “And you, Meg?”

“I don’t know, I ran here as soon as I saw you!” Meg said in a panic. “I was with Riku, and he just kept saying that you would be fine out there. I didn’t listen to him. I ran here to come get you, but Cat already did the job.”

_ “So much for believing in me, Riku…”  _ I thought.

“Wait,” I spoke. “Riku’s still here!? Why!?”

“I don’t know, but, look up!” Meg exclaimed.

Look up…? When I did, I paused. There was a round orb in the sky, growing bigger and bigger, almost like the size of the moon. It was complete darkness with lightning around it. It looked like a portal of sorts.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“I don’t know, that’s what I’m wondering!” Meg exclaimed.

I looked over to find Riku’s boat and Kairi’s boat. “Riku’s boat. And Kairi’s!” I exclaimed. They were still on the island. They never went home. I had to find them. I didn’t care if my clothes and hair were still wet from the sea. My friends mattered a lot in this case. Forget the raft at this point.

I listened to the sound of whispers, making me turn my head to the side. I looked over at Cat and Meg. They must have heard the same thing. When I turned back, there were small shadows that had risen from the ground, their golden eyes looking right at us. It was exactly like my dream. My dreams… were real? How was that possible? I could feel my heart pound like a hammer against my chest, a painful pounding as my body trembled.

“What  _ are _ those!?” Cat exclaimed.

“I don’t know, something terrible!” Meg exclaimed back.

“There’s only one way to face them,” I spoke. I turned to the side, jumped off the docks, and made a run for it onto the sand. “ _ RUN _ !!!”

I could hear Meg and Cat follow behind. I knew they would. More shadows rose from the ground, rushing towards us. We ran towards the clubhouse. I quickly opened the door and hurried inside. I left the door open for Meg and Cat to hurry inside. I closed the door back quickly. I panted heavily, keeping my hands on the door. Those shadows… they were real. Surely they couldn’t reach us here, right?

Wrong. I saw the shadows under my feet. They had crawled under the door in shadow form. I screamed as I jumped back. I grabbed Cat’s hand as we ran upstairs to the outside, making Meg follow behind. We hurried upward to escape, then hurried outside. I turned to the girls. “We gotta find Riku and Kairi!”

“No shit, sherlock!” Meg shouted.

“The cave!” Cat exclaimed. “I’ll head for the cave!”

“No!” Sora exclaimed. “We have to stick together!”

“We’ll meet back at the docks!” Meg exclaimed. “I promise! I’ll go to the back of the island!”

Before the shadows could find us, Meg had already hurried off. I looked over at Cat, who nodded at me before she turned around and made her way off the bridge. I turned around quickly. I noticed someone ahead at the paopu tree. Was that… Riku? I hurried ahead, running towards him. He kept his back turned towards me. I didn’t see Kairi there. Where was she? Instead of feeling relieved to find Riku, I felt angry. Probably because he didn’t seem to be moving nor even care that I could have died.

“Where’s Kairi? I thought she was with you!” I shouted.

Instead of answering, he looked up at the sky and said, “The door has opened…”

“What?” I asked, watching him turn his head towards me.

“The door has opened, Sora!” Riku exclaimed as he turned to face me. “Now we can go to the outside world!”

Had Riku lost his mind or something? We were in the middle of a storm with monsters trying to kill us! How was Riku so calm about this!? I shouted, “What are you talking about? We gotta find Kairi!”

“Kairi’s coming with us!” Riku snapped back.

I couldn’t help but be stunned by Riku’s answer. The way that he said that left me feeling worried and concerned. Did Riku not care about Kairi? Was he just confident she would come with us? Was he mad at her? Or even me? I wasn’t sure what he was thinking at that moment. I remember having an uneasy feeling after that.

Riku continued. “Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There’s no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can’t let fear stop us! I’m not afraid of the darkness!”

What was he talking about? He must have really gone mad now. He looked at me before extending a hand out towards me, expecting me to take it. It was exactly like my dream. Why did he want me to take his hand? “Riku…” I spoke softly. I looked down to see darkness under him, the dark vines taking a hold of him. No. This can’t be happening! I tried to run towards him, but something grabbed my legs.

When I looked down, it was the same dark vines that had a hold of Riku. They were taking a hold of me. I looked up. Riku had a small smile on his face as he still held his hand out for me. How was he not afraid? I tried to reach for him, but it felt like I was too far off. I didn’t want to go like this. I didn’t want to disappear. I was unable to read him. The vines took a hold of him, covering him completely. It did the same to me.

Just when I thought it was all darkness, a piece of light appeared in front of me. Light shone bigger, and finally, I was back in the same spot I found Riku. The only thing? Riku wasn’t there anymore. Did the darkness take him? I felt something in my hand. When I looked down, it was a silver to gold giant key as if it were a weapon. Where did that thing come from? And where did Riku go? This all seemed surreal. I had to be dreaming. If Riku really was okay, I hoped he didn’t do anything stupid. But this key…

_ “Keyblade,” _ the softer male voice in my head said.  _ “You have the Keyblade!” _

_ “No kidding, you piece of shit,”  _ the rougher male voice spoke.  _ “He’s been chosen.” _

_ “Wait, wait, what are you two talking about?” _ Sora asked inside his head.

“You have one too!?” I heard Meg shout, making me turn around to face her. Where did she come from? I noticed a red key in her hand, the same size as mine. Were they really weapons?

“Meg?” I asked. “Where did you get that?”

“It just appeared in my hand when I was leaving the cave.”

“I thought you went to the back of the island.”

“I did, but it was swarmed by those creatures,” Meg commented. “I went to the cave, and Cat and Kairi were there. They’re trying to close the door or something. They’re holding it shut. Something’s inside it! And there’s another door in front of the entrance to the cave too!”

Wait… what? I wanted to ask that out loud.

“What about Riku? Did you find him?” Meg asked.

“I found Riku…” I answered.

“And?”

I said nothing. I didn’t know how to explain it. I didn’t even know what happened myself.

“He just… vanished,” I answered. “Into the darkness.”

Meg’s eyes grew wide. “Please tell me he’s not dead.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I think he just disappeared to another world.”

“How is that possible?”

Before I could answer, the same shadows appeared, surrounding us. Meg quickly grabbed my hand and made a run for it, dragging me with her. No matter where we went, more rose up and followed us.

“We have to go to the cave!” Meg exclaimed. “They’re waiting for us!”

She freed my hand. I followed her on my own. We made our way to the entrance to the cave, escaping those creatures that were following us. Only thing is that when we got to the cave, there was some kind of door there. It was exactly like my dream. It had to be a dream. I expected to wake up at any moment in my bed, and we would all be ready to leave this world together. Only I wasn’t waking up. This was real.

“Why is there a door there…?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Meg commented. “Someone’s screwing with us or something.”

Meg approached the door and opened it. She struggled a bit, trying to get it open, but eventually got it open. No light shone on us. Why would it? I already saw a piece of light from before. Meg entered the cave. I followed behind. We went through the entrance before we hurried through it. When we reached the end, Cat and Kairi were using their bodies to hold the door shut. Something leaked out of the door. It looked like darkness.

“Kairi! Cat!” I exclaimed.

“Sora! Meg!” Kairi exclaimed. “If you guys have a giant key, use that to lock the door!”

“What!?” I asked. “How!?”

“Just do it!” Kairi screamed.

It was too late though. No matter how much effort they put into keeping the door closed, it had slammed open. Dark waves have flown out of it, spreading like wildfire. Kairi and Cat had flown back. Meg quickly caught Cat, but this caused Meg to fly back as well. When I caught Kairi, I ended up flying backwards too. All four of us disappeared into the darkness, or at least not for long.

We were outside again. We all slammed onto the sand below us. I slammed head first into the sand. When I looked up, I saw the girls were okay, looking around with their heads. I turned to look forward. Our world was in ruins. Everything was destroyed. The only thing that remained was the sand that was above the world, which we were on top of. The world below was complete darkness. There were parts of the world that were torn apart, flying towards the large round orb in the sky.

“Whoa!” I exclaimed.

“Uh, guys…?” Cat spoke, making me turn to her to see her eyes wide as she looked behind her.

I turned around. My eyes grew wide. I stood up to my feet. There was a large shadow with golden eyes staring down at it. It was a large monster, its claws out, its mouth hidden, and a hole in its chest, heart shaped. It was exactly like my dream. It was my own shadow, ready to kill me. There was no running away. This was for real. My own shadow would actually kill me and my friends.

“WHAT  _ IS _ THAT!?” Kairi screamed.

“Something definitely terrible!” Meg screamed.

“We can’t run, so what are we supposed to do!?” Cat asked, holding a giant key that looked similar to that of a scythe.

“Well, we have weapons now,” I commented, watching the shadow move towards us. “We fight!”

“WHAT!?” Meg screamed. “We don’t know how!”

“Just do it!” I screamed before it fell onto its knees.

We thought it had collapsed or something. Instead, darkness formed in its chest, then something shot out of it. It looked like a dark fire that was headed towards us. We dodged out of the way quickly before it could strike us. It would repeat this action, in which we would continue to dodge. I was the one to run over and strike its hand, making it raise its hand up. Meg repeated this action, striking the other hand. The shadow raised both hands up, then moved to slam them downward.

We hurried out of the way before it slammed onto the sand, causing the ground to shake violently. It had sunk both hands to the ground. When it moved those hands out of the sand, a dark orb was in its hand. Meg and I ran to attack it. Cat and Kairi followed our example. We continued to strike its hand. Then, the shadow moved up onto its feet, then threw the orb into the air. Once it did that, it had split into little pieces, falling down towards us.

“RUN!” Kairi cried out.

We tried to avoid the orbs falling from the sky. When they touched the ground, they seemed to have exploded a small bit. They had turned the ground dark. The monster had slammed its hand down again, making the ground shake. Once it did that, more shadows rose from the ground, the same small ones from before. We had no choice but to fight them off. They launched at us, forcing us to use our Keyblades to fight back. 

Before we could continue fighting, the large orb in the sky was sucking everything in. The sand went up, as did other items. Some items were stuck to the ground. The four of us huddled together as the monster flew up into the sky, disappearing into the darkness. We could feel ourselves being lifted in the air. I quickly grabbed onto the wood below me while holding Kairi’s hand. I looked over to find Kairi had grabbed Cat’s hand while Cat grabbed Meg’s hand. We tried to remain grounded. The wind became stronger, nearly dragging us up to the orb.

“DON’T LET GO!” Meg cried out.

“Why on earth would he let go!?” Kairi cried out.

But I did let go. I didn’t mean to, but I did. The wind was too strong. My fingers slipped. When I let go, we all screamed as we flew up into the sky. No. I didn’t want to die like this. I didn’t want to disappear. What about my family!? Would they know what happened to me? Or did they die already because of the madness here? The thought of them being dead had me scared. I couldn’t even think straight. We disappeared into the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's about it :3 kudos and comments are appreciated if you enjoyed it! Also, I know that Kairi was kidnapped in game and that she was a damsel, but since this story will be a bit different, I decided not to go that route. I wanted her to be a part of the group and enjoy the adventures they go on. She deserves to tell her story too.


	4. Chapter 3: The Destiny Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... I have nothing to say except enjoy xD

**~Sora~**

Images of my friends, family, and world disappearing replayed over and over again in my mind. I couldn’t wake up. I couldn’t escape. It was all real. The horror of what happened would never leave my mind. I snapped out of it when I felt someone or something lick my face, making me open my eyes halfway. The images stopped. I looked over to see a yellow dog with a green collar sitting there, wagging their tail. A dog…? When did I get a dog? Either way, I assumed I had been dreaming the whole time.

“What a dream…” I commented, about to fall back asleep. The dog had slammed its paws against my chest, forcing me to wake up and gasp. It had hit the keychain necklace that I wore around my neck. “This isn’t a dream!”

I felt someone had their head on my shoulder. When I looked over, I saw Meg. She was unconscious. She looked peaceful, the way that she slept. Was she hurt? Was she okay? I checked for any bruises on her. She had a few that covered some of her freckles. I had a few bruises too. Was it from the monster? Or was it from being forced to disappear through that giant orb? Or even from hitting the ground?

“Meg,” I spoke, taking my arm to rest on her shoulder before shaking her light. “Meg. Are you okay?”

Meg groaned as she slowly opened those bright blue eyes. She looked up at me, her black bangs over her eyes with one spiking up on her right. She looked as tired as I was. She took a heavy breath. Meg yawned before she sat up, away from me. She looked around, then asked, “Where… are we?”

“I really don’t know…” I answered, standing up onto my feet and helping Meg on her feet. “Oh, boy.”

“We’re definitely not in Kansas anymore,” Meg commented. “We must be over the rainbow!”

“Is this really the time to make Wizard of Oz jokes?” I asked.

“Hey, I thought that was funny-” Meg gasped. “DOGGY!”

Meg quickly ran towards the dog and began to pet them. Meg spoke to the dog as if they were a baby. She didn’t know if it was a boy or a girl. I didn’t know either. The dog seemed to have enjoyed the attention they were getting. I knelt down to the dog and asked, “Do you know where we are?”

Meg snorted as she looked at me. “They’re not going to give a direct answer, Sora.”

“Hey, at least I asked!” I exclaimed. I realized how stupid I sounded, that I shouldn’t have even asked the dog anything.

The dog perked an ear up as if they heard something, then turned and took off.

“Hey!” I called, chasing after the dog.

Meg and I hurried around the corner, only to find that this was a completely different town. It looked nothing like where we came from. Was this… another world? It had to be! That was the only explanation! Did that mean… that my friends and family were here too!?

“This is totally weird…” I commented. “We’re in another world!”

“Traverse Town,” I heard Meg say.

I turned my head towards her. “How do you know what this place is called?”

“Because there’s a sign…” Meg spoke, pointing at the sign on the side.

“Oh…” I chuckled, rubbing the back of my head with one hand. “Right. I knew that.”

“Sure you did,” Meg said sarcastically before chuckling.

I huffed. “Well, let’s take a look around.”

“Okay,” was all Meg said.

We walked through town, expecting to find our friends around here. From what I could gather, this must have been the first district. Of course, there was a sign too… This all seemed surreal. It still felt like a dream, although I knew it wasn’t. Who would think my dream would come true? And I didn’t mean the happy dreams either. This was too much. On the side, I noticed a brunette woman dressed provocatively looking at me. I tried to walk away from her.

“Hey there,” she spoke to me. I couldn’t help it. I turned my head to her. “You look rather lonely. Do you need someone to keep you company?”

She must have been a prostitute. I didn’t know. I had heard of those, although I had never actually met one. I shook my head.

“Shy, aren’t we?” she asked, chuckling. “For you, I can make you into the man you want to be.”

A man… That sounded nice to be considered a man. I was a boy, I knew that. It was in me. I wasn’t a girl. But if she were to see me with a female body, she would change her mind. Wait. Why am I wondering what this woman thinks of me? Yet I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Did a pimp put her up to this? Was she being forced into this? I had heard horror stories of women and trans men being forced into prostitution through kidnappings and sex trafficking. Plus, I didn’t want to sleep with a prostitute I didn’t know. I wanted to be with someone special when I was older.

“You don’t have to keep up this facade,” I commented. “Did your boss make you do this?”

“Excuse me-?” she paused, staring at me. Oh, no. I shouldn’t have spoken. My voice was still girly, and I knew she would see me as a girl. She looked at my chest. I thought my chest was tight enough to where it looked like I wasn’t a girl, even if I couldn’t breathe at times. “Are you a girl?”

“No,” I answered.

“You seem like one,” she answered.

“I’m a trans boy.”

“Oh,” was all she said, her face turning red. “I’m sorry-”

“What’s going on?” Meg asked, approaching us. “Everything okay?”

“Ah, yeah,” I answered before my mind went to my friends. “Well, this is Meg. I’m Sora. We’re looking for our friends. Have you seen anyone unfamiliar around here?”

She shook her head. “No, I haven’t. I can’t be seen talking like this.”

“Why not?” Meg asked.

“My boss will get mad,” she answered. “So you better-”

Before she could finish, something stabbed through her chest. A scream escaped her, then silence. Blood spilled onto Meg and I. It was warm, but quickly became cold. She dropped to the ground, her body vanishing. We never knew her name. Her heart was in a creature’s hand. This time, this creature was in armor, although it still had golden eyes. It quickly ate the heart, then vanished. Meg and I didn’t scream. We didn’t move. We were too paralyzed to do anything. When I turned around quickly while Meg -her face growing pale- turned around slowly, there were shadows everywhere, all around us.

“We have to go!” I cried out, grabbing Meg’s hand. “Quick!”

Meg dragged me away from the creatures, having the two of us run as fast as we could. I had to pick up my feet quickly. She freed my hand before we arrived at a mechanic shop. Please, let it be open. I don’t want to have to find anywhere else to stay safe. The creatures followed us. Once we arrived at the door, we quickly opened it and hurried inside. When we tried to close the door, a shadow had tried to run inside, having the door slam against it, trapping it between the two doors.

Finally, after trying to keep it out, we crushed it by slamming the door shut, killing it. Meg and I kept our hands on the door, panting heavily as our eyes were wide. We looked over at each other, looking to be sure neither of us were hurt. We turned around to find ourselves in the shop. There was a couch to sit on, a cash register to buy things, a table, and a bunch of mechanical stuff that could be used for a rocket or any vehicle or something. An old man with blond hair stepped out of the back of the room, taking notice of us.

“Hey there, how can I-” He paused. “Aw, it’s only two kids.”

I glared at him. “I’m not a kid!”

Meg looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, you are.”

“I know, but you don’t have to tell him that!” I told Meg before turning to the old wrinkled but muscular man. “And the name’s Sora!”

“Okay, okay, simmer down,” he said, and you can tell he sounded like an old man or somewhat an old man. “So why the long face, you two? You lost or somethin’?”

“No!” I answered. “Well, maybe. Where are we?”

“Huh?” he questioned.

“Is this really another world?” Meg questioned back. “You know, Traverse Town?”

“Don’t call me gramps!” he shouted. “The name’s Cid! Anyway. Not sure what you’re talkin’ about, but you must not be from around here.”

“We’re from an island…” Meg answered.

“Well, this certainly ain’t your island,” he said. 

“Huh… guess I better start looking for our friends and family,” I commented.

“Well, good luck with whatever it is you’re doing,” Cid told us. “If you ever run into trouble, you come to me. I’ll look out for you.”

Meg and I looked at each other with concern. We had always been told not to trust strangers who say that, especially if we didn’t know them. Was it a good idea to trust him? I wasn’t even sure. I was sure, however, that Meg felt as uncomfortable as I was.

Cid snorted. “Kids, I’m not a pedophile. I promise. I’m just trying to help you out. Unless you want to be out on your own with those creatures running around.”

“You know about them?” Meg asked.

“They ain’t friendly, I’ll say that,” Cid said. “I trust you guys will be careful, but come back to me if there’s trouble. I’ll be in the back if you need me.” With that, he turned to go to the back room.

I looked over at Meg and said, “I’ll look outside for a bit. When it’s safe, I’ll come get you.”

“Sora, no,” Meg quickly said. “What if you get hurt!?”

“I’ll be fine. I promise,” I reassured her. “Rest for a bit. Lemme check outside and I’ll come back for you. Okay?”

Meg frowned. “Okay…”

I nodded and grinned. I turned around and made my way towards the door. I could hear Meg walk towards the couch. I turned to see her sitting on the couch, playing with her fingers nervously. It’ll be all right, I wanted to tell her. I turned around and opened the doors. I stepped outside into the night. I wondered what time it was here. I didn’t see any of those creatures. I summoned the giant key just in case. When I was sure that it was safe, I was about to turn to go get Meg.

“They’ll come at you out of nowhere,” an older guy spoke, making me turn to the side to see a brunette male with medium length hair and sharp blue eyes, along with a scar over his face.

“Who are you?” I questioned, immediately becoming tense upon seeing him.

“And they’ll keep coming at you,” he spoke again without answering my question, “as long as you continue to wield the Keyblade.” Keyblade? Is that what this thing I was holding in my hand called? Right… the voices inside my head _did_ say it was a Keyblade. “But why?” he questioned. “Why would that special Keyblade choose a kid like you?”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“Never mind,” he said, stepping forward towards me. “Now, let’s see that Keyblade.”

“What? There’s no way you’re getting this!” I exclaimed.

He stopped, then took out a large sword that looked like a gun. Was that… a sword and a gun? He had _that_ weapon!? My eyes grew wide upon seeing it. “All right,” he said coldly, “then have it your way.”

The moment he moved forward, I immediately panicked. This was a human. A living person. I couldn’t fight that! I could barely fight that shadow! I had to get Cid and Meg! I turned around and tried to make it inside the shop, only to feel something hit the back of my head. The guy must have struck me. I fell forward, then everything turned black.

**~Kairi~**

When I snapped my violet eyes wide open, I thought I would be waking up in a nice warm bed, then ready to leave my home for other worlds. Only problem? I was on concrete ground, and I was not at my home at all. I could see the clear night sky above me, a few stars going out. Wait… stars were going out? Was it already close to morning? No. Impossible. I groaned as I rubbed my eyes. I sat up and turned my head side by side. No one else was here but me… What was this place?

I gasped, quickly realizing that my friends and family weren’t with me. I was all alone. Where were my parents? My friends? Could this really be another world? What… happened to my home? Then I remembered. My world had been destroyed by the darkness. I remembered flying through some sort of portal, then everything turned black. Why was I here without my loved ones? Why was I here at all?

I stood up to my feet. I had hoped to see people I knew around here somewhere. I found no one. I heard someone running. I thought it was someone I knew. When I turned my head, there was a stranger running past me. He quickly tripped, then fell face first onto the ground. He looked terrified. He was on the verge of screaming. I turned to see what was there. I didn’t see anything there. I turned back to the man.

“Excuse me,” I spoke. “Do you know-?”

“Run!” He exclaimed, turning to face me while still on the ground. “You have to run! They’re coming!”

“Who’s coming?”

“The Heart-”

Something had jumped on him and stabbed through his chest. His heart had been ripped out of him. The man dropped dead. The creature in armor held the heart in its hand before eating it. Immediately, I screamed, terror entering my body as tears formed in my eyes. The Heartless turned towards me. I stepped back quickly. Shadows rose up from the ground and surrounded me, their golden eyes right on me.

I noticed the giant key appear in my hand. I looked at it for a moment, then looked up to see the creatures draw closer. I took in a sharp breath. Before I could even fight back, someone had rushed in and swung their sword, slicing through the armored creature. The creatures turned to the woman with the sword. They launched at her. She swung her sword quickly, slicing through each of them without a problem.

She lifted up her hand and shouted, “DIE!”

Suddenly, lightning struck each creature, killing off the rest of them. I was amazed by her skills as a fighter. She had done this before. She looked to be in her twenties. She was a muscular girl with olive skin, short black hair, and copper-amber eyes. Her beauty didn’t make her look graceful, but it made her look intimidating. She probably wasn’t even considered that beautiful by the looks of it.

She turned to me and asked, “Kid, are you okay?”

“Y- Yeah…” I answered. “Who are you?”

“Tell me your name first,” she told me.

“No, tell me _your_ name.”

“Look, I’m not going to argue about who says their name first, so either you tell me your name or I’ll force it out of you.”

“You wouldn’t do that.”

“You wanna bet?”

“Are you threatening violence?”

She paused. “Oh, no, I was gonna bribe you actually.”

I frowned. “Kairi. You?”

“Trinity,” she answered. “But call me Tiff. Those Heartless are going to keep coming after you as long as you wield that Keyblade. It’s not the ultimate Keyblade, but it’s a Keyblade.”

“Keyblade…?” I asked. “You mean this key?”

“No, the potato,” she said sarcastically. “What do you think I meant?”

“You’re very rude,” I commented.

“Look, those Heartless are going to keep coming after you unless you come with me,” she said.

“You bet those guys are heartless, but-”

“No, that’s what they’re called. Heartless. Their names are Heartless. They are heartless, and that’s why they’re called Heartless.”

I thought about it for a moment before I raised an eyebrow. “Well, that’s stupid.”

“Right?” she snorted. “Okay, but you’re going to have to come with me.”

“What? Why? I don’t know you.”

“Do you want to die?”

“I have friends to find…”

“Perhaps me and the others will be able to help. Now, come on! We have to hurry or else those creatures will find you.”

I had no choice, did I? I would rather not go with her, but I had a feeling that I would be eaten by these shadows. Perhaps my heart would be ripped out of me next. I didn’t want that sad fate to be my ending. I had no choice. I wanted to live. “Okay, okay,” I said. “I’ll go with you.”

“Then come on,” Tiff spoke, urging me to follow. “Let’s go.”

I followed behind, letting her lead me to a hotel that was close by. We hurried down the empty street. No one walked through it due to the fear of those creatures -or rather the Heartless- coming to attack them and rip their hearts out. The image of that man’s heart being ripped out of him, then being eaten by the Heartless consumed my mind over and over again. What would have happened if that was me? Or worse: what if that were my friends and family?

By the time we reached the hotel, Tiff had stepped inside first. I followed behind. She held the door open for me, making me step inside. She checked in with the clerk before she led me to a room. I feared that perhaps she was leading me to my death or a worse fate. I turned back as if expecting someone to help me. When she stopped at a door, she used a card key to open it, then stepped inside. I followed behind. There were at least six more people in the room.

One girl had dark purple hair with violet eyes, pale skin, and wore a flowy short purple dress with black boots. She looked like a magician of sorts. There was a guy with black hair, dark blue eyes, brown skin, and had black cat ears and tail. Was he a cosplayer or something? One girl had black hair with black bangs, aquamarine eyes, and pale skin, looking a bit shy. There were two women who looked like shadows with golden eyes. Were those…

“Heartless!” I cried out.

“No, no!” the purple haired girl shouted. “It’s okay! These two are friendly. They can talk _and_ they help us.”

“Hello!” one of them with long hair replied. “I’m called Roxy!”

“And I’m Isabelle,” the other with shorter hair commented. “Nice to meet you!”

“Kairi…?” I heard another girl speak, making me turn to a girl with long hair who looked almost identical to Sora.

“Sara…?” I asked, then noticed an older guy beside her, who looked identical as well, but had green eyes. “Ian!?”

“Oh, so you two know each other!” the black haired guy with cat ears replied happily. “Good!”

I ran towards them and wrapped an arm each around them, making them hug me back. “Are you two all right!?” I asked, pulling back to look at them.

“We’re fine,” Ian replied. “We’re okay. I promise.”

“Have you seen my brother and our parents?” Sara asked.

I shook my head and frowned. “No, I’m sorry…”

“Shit,” Tiff commented. “We’re going to need to explain a lot to them. The purple one here is Phoebe-” I turned to see Tiff pointing at the girl with purple hair. She then pointed at the black haired male. “This is Rory.”

“Uh…” I frowned. “Are you a cosplayer?”

Rory looked at me for a moment before he laughed. “No, actually. These are real.”

“No way,” I answered.

“I didn’t believe it either,” Sara admitted.

“Oh, it’s real, all right,” Ian commented.

His ear twitched. “You can touch it if you want to!”

“Um… okay!” I replied with a smile.

I couldn’t help it. I agreed before approaching him. I raised my hand and patted his ears. They felt so real… they were actually real? I jerked my hand away, surprised that his ear twitched again. He giggled. “That tickles.”

“That’s Raine,” Tiff said, pointing at the girl with aquamarine eyes.

She smiled shyly and waved.

“Are you okay?” I asked Raine.

“She’s mute,” Tiff spoke. “It comes and goes.”

“Oh…” I nodded. “Well, is anyone going to tell me what’s going on?”

“You might as well buckle up,” Rory said to me. “It’s going to be a _long_ true story.”

**~Riku~**

I finally made it. I knew I was in another world, although the landing could have been better. I must have fallen into unconsciousness at that time. I felt myself on concrete ground. I could hear the sounds of the waterfall, but it wasn’t hitting water or rocks or anything in particular. When I slowly opened my aquamarine eyes, I found myself in an unfamiliar world. I was on top of a flat floating rock, around with other large floating icicles or rocks around me for me to walk on.

When I looked at my surroundings, there were waterfalls around me, but the water went up instead of downward. It was all like a dream. This couldn’t be a dream. This had to be real. That guy promised that I would be in another world. This had to be another world. I didn’t know where I was, but I knew I wasn’t at home anymore. I pushed myself up to my feet, caring not to fall forward or backwards.

“Where… am I?” I questioned myself.

Then it hit me. I turned around at each side, desperately hoping to find my friends there. None of them were there. They weren’t beside me, in front of me, nor behind me. I couldn’t be alone. There was no way.

“Sora!” I called out. “Meg! Cat! Kairi! Where are you!?”

Nothing. I had no response. None of them were here. I felt myself sinking deeper into despair. I thought they would come with me. Did we get separated? We must have. I could feel a pair of eyes on me. Was it my friends? No. It couldn’t be. They would have said something by now. When I looked up, in the distance, there was a woman, or rather a witch or evil fairy without wings, in the distance. She had horns on her head, a long sleeved black gown, and held a green to black staff with a crow on her shoulder. Her skin was a pale green. Maybe she knew something.

I jumped my way through each icicle and rock. They weren’t even slippery at all. Were these icicles at all? I drew closer to her. The closer I got, the more distrusting I became. She looked like trouble. But maybe this was what that man meant when he said that I would have help. She could help me. Once I managed to reach her, I stood right in front of her. I immediately regret going to her, but I knew she could have been my only chance in reaching my goal.

“Are you the boy he has sent?” she questioned.

He…? “If you mean that guy in the brown robe and hood, then possibly,” I answered. “I’m Riku. Have you seen anyone unfamiliar around here?”

“I have only met two,” she answered. “So you are the boy.”

“Two?” I questioned.

“One with silver eyes and one with the same hair color as you,” she answered. “Have you lost those dear to you?”

I didn’t know about the person with the same hair color as me, but the silver eyed one…? Surely it couldn’t be Aiden, right? I would kill him if I saw him since no one was holding me back. “No one else?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Not that I have seen.”

“Who are you?” I asked.

She smirked. “I am Maleficent.”

**~Cat~**

I felt myself on concrete ground, feeling a few bruises on my body. I groaned as I rubbed my eyes with my hands. I removed those hands from my face before opening them back up. I had hoped that the whole incident with our world disappearing was a dream, that I would be back home. But I was smarter than that. I knew that I wasn’t home anymore. I darted my eyes around, finding myself in an alley. Oh boy… I definitely didn’t recognize this place.

I sat up and turned my head side by side. I didn’t see any of my friends. I had hoped that if I looked hard enough, I would find them. I didn’t see any of them. I stood up to my feet. I could hear footsteps in the darkness, making me turn to the corner of the alley. I had hoped that I would find my friends. Instead, there was a man who was taller, average weight, and had brown hair with a large nose. I immediately felt uncomfortable around here.

“You must be from another world,” he spoke. “So are a lot of people.”

“What…?” Cat questioned. I wanted to ask him if he had seen any of my friends, but my voice wouldn’t come out. Something told me not to engage with him.

“If you need help, come with me,” he told me. “I can help you find what you need.”

“Thank you, but I think I’m fine on my own,” I spoke.

“You think?” he snorted. “Look, kid. If you want to survive in this world, especially as a girl, you’re going to have to do some uncomfortable things to get what you want.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You want to find your friends and family, right?” he laughed. “Well, I’m sorry to tell you this, but there’s a chance they’re dead. So if you want to live… Then come with me. You’d be perfect for the job, really. Being a skinny teen is the norm now. Lots of people like that. I have food and water. You’ll need it.”

I turned to leave. “Actually, I’m good-”

“No, you’re not,” he said, grabbing my arm. “Come with me.”

“Let go of me!” I cried out, attempting to pull away.

“I’m offering you shelter!” he shouted.

He managed to yank off my glove. I gasped, and without thinking, used my exposed hand to slap him across the face. Instead of leaving a mark, the part that was struck began to melt, black liquid on his face eating away his skin. I quickly jerked the glove away from him. He screamed, trying to wipe the black liquid off his face. My eyes grew wide as I slid the glove back over my hand and stepped backwards. When he looked up at me, I could see his flesh, making me scream. I had not used my power in a long time. I didn’t use it for a reason. It wasn’t a blessing. It was a curse.

“You monster!” he screamed. “Look what you’ve done to me!”

I was surprised the poison didn’t kill him, but something else did. I moved backwards further just as he moved towards me. Before I could run, something stabbed through his chest, gripping his heart in its clawed hand. My eyes grew wide. I didn’t scream. I didn’t move. I was too paralyzed by what I was seeing. The creature yanked the heart backwards, making the dead man drop to the ground. It was an armored creature. Was it horrible to be glad this man was dead? Despite feeling grateful for the creature killing him, I had a feeling that this creature wasn’t doing it to save me. It looked at me as a target next.

I turned around and made a run for it, seeing shadows on the side rising from the ground. I ran through the alley, trying to escape them. I turned towards the other part of the alley, running to my right. I tripped over a garbage can, falling chest and arms first onto the ground. I turned around quickly, still on the ground, as the creatures drew closer towards me. I tried to get up. The giant key appeared in my hand, taking the form of a scythe. I still had it! I could fight back! I got in a fighting stance. Just like before when I fought that giant shadow.

“Thunder!” someone shouted before lightning struck each creature, killing each of them.

My eyes grew wide. My mouth hung open. First, that guy tried to drag me away. Then, these creatures chased me. Now, someone else was here. Would they try to hurt me too? Instead of seeing a threat, I saw a duck and a dog… both standing on two feet. They were human sized, the duck being medium sized. The duck was dressed as a magician of sorts, carrying a staff, while the dog had armor on him, carrying a shield.

“A key!” the dog and duck said at the same time.

“But it’s not _the_ key,” the duck commented.

“Uh… Who are you and why are you talking?” I asked.

The duck looked at me. “You must be a sidekick to the prince or princess. That key is evidence. Do you know where they are?”

“I… have no idea what you’re talking about,” I answered.

“The king had a letter for us,” the dog explained. “It said that he was on a top secret mission, and wanted us to find the chosen one of royal blood. He or she carries _the_ key. We think you know where he is.”

“I wish I did, but I don’t…” I answered, standing up onto my feet. “I was separated from my friends. So… I really don’t know…”

“So you are from another world,” the dog said.

“How are you a sidekick and not know where they are?” the duck asked.

“Because our world vanished and we were forced apart?” I answered, although that came out more like a question. “Who are you?”

“Donald Duck,” the duck answered.

“The name’s Goofy,” Goofy answered.

“Well, I’m Catrina, but call me Cat,” I answered. “Also… I really just want to get out of this alley.”

“I don’t blame ya,” Goofy said. “Sure is spooky.”

Donald huffed. “Ah, phooey. I’m not scared.”

I didn’t even see someone approach Donald from behind until it was too late. A woman with a bow behind her braided brown hair tapped Donald’s shoulder. Donald immediately screamed, jumping in the air before landing on Goofy’s shoulder, holding onto him in fear. She looked harmless. Her green eyes looked friendly. She seemed kind. She didn’t look like a threat at all. I guessed that Donald was afraid after all.

“Excuse me,” she spoke. “Did the king send you?”

The two of them turned to look over at her, seeing she was just a friendly woman like I saw her as. Was she here to help us? I hoped so. I just wanted to get out of here.

**~Meg~**

I waited. Sora never came back. It had been over ten minutes. Did he forget about me? No. Impossible. There was no way he could have forgotten. What if something happened to him? No. Those creatures couldn’t have eaten him. Sora was much stronger than that. He had a giant key too! … Right? I turned my head. Cid was still in the back stocking some things. I decided I would go investigate. I stood up to my feet and walked towards the door.

When I opened the door and stepped outside, nothing was out here. There was no Sora, no creatures, no anything. I knew something had happened to Sora. My heart pounded like a rabbit. My hands trembled. Tears formed in my eyes. My breathing hitched. I gulped. When I heard footsteps, I had hoped that it was Sora, or anyone I knew for that matter. Instead, I saw a man who had shaggy black hair, blue eyes, freckles, and muscular. At first, I thought it was Aiden. Instead, it was a completely different man.

“Meg…?” he asked, his silver eyes growing wide.

“What?” I asked. “How do you know my name?”

He didn’t answer my question. He approached me. He smiled. “Meg! You’ve grown up-!”

I stepped back, making him freeze. I shouted, “Who are you, and how do you know my name!?”

He paused. “That’s right… You don’t know me.”

“What?” I asked.

“Meg, listen to me,” he said. “I know this sounds crazy, but… I’m your uncle. You’re my niece.”

“Excuse me?” I asked, not believing a word he was saying.

“When you and Aiden were little, your parents dropped you both off to another family to keep you safe. What happened to them?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Uh… my actual mom died, and my actual dad left Aiden and I. How do you know Aiden?”

“Because I’m really your uncle,” he said. “Do you happen to have a giant key?”

“You mean this?” I asked, raising my hand out before it was quickly summoned in my hand. How I knew how to do that, I had no clue. It was an odd feeling I had.

“That’s it! The Keyblade!” he shouted. “You’re a sidekick to the prince or princess! Your parents predicted that!”

I blinked a few times. “Who are you, really?”

“Drake,” he answered. “You need to come with me. You’re in danger.”

“I’d rather not go with a stranger,” I answered.

He looked heartbroken when I said those words. “Would you rather be eaten by those creatures?”

“I have to find my friends and family.”

“I can help you. Just please. Trust me.”

Something told me I had no other choice. Maybe he had something to do with Sora’s disappearance. Either way, I had to do something about it. I nodded. “Okay, I’ll go with you. Lead the way.”

He nodded. “Let’s go.”

He turned and led the way, making me follow behind. I still didn’t believe a word he said. He must have made it up to grab my attention. But how did he know who Aiden was? We walked through the dark streets of the night. Of course no one would be around! They were too afraid of those creatures eating them alive! I looked around, hoping to catch the others somewhere. I was led to a dark alley. I knew it. He planned to kill me, didn’t he!?

Only he didn’t. He took me into the hotel that was next to us. Maybe he would hurt me here. It was okay, I believed. I had a giant key with me, or a Keyblade as he called it. Was that a word he made up, or was that what it was really called? When he checked us in, we walked down the halls until he stopped at a room. He opened the door with a card key before opening the door. He stepped inside. I followed behind.

In the room was a purple haired male with brown eyes and tanned skin, looking right at us. He seemed harmless. Another was a girl with long dark brown hair and hazel eyes, along with having olive skin. It was just the four of us now. None of them looked like they wanted to hurt me, although I couldn’t be sure.

“So this is your niece,” the girl spoke. “She looks all grown up. I’m Trish.”

“And I’m Lance,” the purple haired male spoke. “Nice to meetcha, little one!”

“Uh… Okay?” I asked, giggling uncomfortably. “Can you guys tell me why I’m here before I freak out?”

“You better sit tight then,” Lance commented. “Because this is going to be one hell of a story you’re about to hear.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are appreciated if you enjoyed it :D


	5. Chapter 4: The Destiny Five

**~Sora~**

“Wake up, you lazy kid. Wake up!” I heard a woman speak, making me open my eyes.

I looked over to see a girl dressed like a ninja with short black hair and dark blue eyes. Her outfit was a bit provoking, dressed a bit too sexually. She had a headband that made her look like a ninja. She looked to be a year older than me. For a moment, I didn’t know where I was. I didn’t even know who she was. I was on a comfortable bed, but it wasn’t my bed. It looked like a hotel room. For a moment, I felt safe. There were no creatures after me.

Then it hit me. I had been kidnapped by that guy. Were they going to hurt me? I screamed, jerking back against a wall while still on the bed that was beside the wall. My eyes were wide, my heart pounded against my chest like a hammer, and my hands were against the wall on each side as well. She looked at me confused. Why is she the one confused!? I’m the one who was kidnapped just now! Or… How long had I been here?

“Who are you!?” I exclaimed. “Why am I here!?”

“I’m the great ninja Yuffie,” she answered before turning around. “Are you a girl or a boy? You kind of feel like a girl when you were being picked up to be brought back here.”

Wait… They dragged me back here? What else did they do to me? “Boy,” I answered.

She nodded before turning her head. “I think you might have overdone it, Squall.”

The same man that had kidnapped me was there, looking as cold as before. My kidnapper! I wanted to scream at him, to choke him, and try to run away as fast as I could. Right beside him was the Keyblade, as he called it.

“That’s Leon,” he corrected Yuffie.

“The Keyblade…” I spoke, my eyes now glued to the Keyblade.

Yuffie approached Leon as she told me, “Yeah, we had to get it away from you to shake off those creatures.” She turned to look at me. “It turns out that’s how they were tracking you.”

Leon crossed his arms and spoke. “It was the only way to conceal your heart from them. But it won’t work for long.” He turned his head to the Keyblade, then picked it up before looking at me. “Still hard to believe that you of all people are the chosen one, especially a transgender boy. I just can’t believe you of all people are the heir to Kingdom Hearts.”

What was that supposed to mean? Was he just surprised? Or did he not like that? Either way, he was going to have to get it over with. But… what was Kingdom Hearts? Why did he call me an heir? He raised the Keyblade to the side, then it vanished. It appeared right back into my hand. That key… actually came back to me? Could I not get rid of it? I had so many questions. What was going on?”

“Well,” Leon spoke as he approached me. “I suppose beggars can’t be choosers.”

I glared up at him. “Why don’t you start making sense! What’s going on here?”

**~Kairi~**

“Okay, so you do realize that there are other worlds out there beside your island, right?” Rory questioned.

“There are?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Tiff answered.

“But you said they were meant to be a secret,” Ian commented.

“They’ve _been_ secrets because they’ve never been connected,” Roxy chimed in.

“Yeah, until now,” Isabelle added.

“So… what happened there?” Sara asked.

“The Heartless happened,” Phoebe answered.

“Those creatures?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Rory replied. “Then everything changed.”

**~Meg~**

“The Heartless?” I asked. “Is that what they’re called?”

“Yeah, those things that attacked you and your friends,” Lance commented. “Remember?”

“Those without hearts,” Drake replied.

I thought about it for a moment. “And they’re called Heartless?”

“Yes,” Trish answered.

I thought about it again for a second before saying, “Well, that’s stupid.”

Lance snorted. “Right?”

“The darkness in people’s hearts,” Drake added. “That’s what attracts them, and there is darkness within every heart.”

“Hey,” Trish spoke. “Have you ever heard of a man named Ansem?”

**~Cat~**

“Ansem?” Goofy questioned.

“He was studying the Heartless,” the brunette girl named Aerith explained. “He recorded all of his findings in a very detailed report.”

That name… Something seemed familiar about that name, like I had heard it before. I always heard it in my dreams, so maybe that was where it came from. Still, something drew me in, wanting me to come closer to that man. Why was a man named Ansem already catching my interest? Like perhaps I knew him. I didn’t know him. I couldn’t.

“Gawrsh, uh, can we see it?” Goofy asked.

Aerith shook her head. “The pages are scattered everywhere.”

“Scattered?” Donald asked.

“To many worlds,” Aerith added.

“Oh, then maybe the king went to find them,” Goofy said.

“Yes, those were my thoughts exactly,” Aerith replied.

Feeling as though I needed to speak, I asked, “Do we know where they have been scattered to?”

Aerith shook her head. “I’m afraid not.”

“We’ve gotta find him quick!” Goofy exclaimed.

“Wait!” Donald shouted. He looked at the person reading this now, then moved the image towards him. Once he had the image positioned, he said, “First we need that ‘key’!”

Aerith smiled. “That’s right, the Keyblade.”

**~Sora~**

I couldn’t believe it. It was still unbelievable, like a dream. Not only was I to have a male body someday, but I was a Keyblade Master? I was the chosen one? I guessed the whole transition would have to wait a bit longer, although I did have hormones now. I had a world to save. That didn’t mean I would use my dead name. I wanted people to know me as the boy who saved the world: Sora. I refused to identify as a girl, nor use my dead name. I am Sora, and I am a hero now. The world needed me.

“So… this is the key?” I asked.

“Exactly!” Yuffie answered.

“The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade,” Leon added before he turned to walk towards the other door. “That’s why they’ll keep coming after you no matter what.”

“Well, I didn’t ask for this,” I replied.

“The Keyblade chooses its master. And it chose you,” Yuffie added.

“So tough luck,” Leon said as he leaned against the door with his arms crossed.

“How did all this happen?” I asked. “I remember being in my room.” Upon remembering everything, I gasped and stood up. No. Everyone I loved… they couldn’t be…! “Wait a minute! What happened to my home!? My island!? Riku! Meg! Cat! Kairi!”

Leon paused. “You know what? I really don’t know. Sooner or later, the Heartless will find you either way. You’d best prepare yourself, no matter what has happened in the past.”

“Prepare myself?” I asked, approaching Leon.

“To fight for your life,” Leon said. “Are you ready?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Not really.”

“Then I guess I have no other choice.”

“Yuffie,” Leon said, looking at her. “Let’s go join Aerith. She should be there with the other visitors.”

“Leon!” Yuffie exclaimed, pointing ahead.

When we turned our heads, a Heartless had appeared. Oh, so of all times, _now_ they find me again. This couldn’t have gotten any worse.

“Yuffie, go check on Aerith!” Leon shouted.

“But-”

“Now!”

Yuffie gulped before she ran towards the other door.

“Sora, let’s go,” Leon said before he charged at the Heartless.

He swung his sword, striking it before it flung to the side. It broke through the window, being thrown outside. Leon hurried out and jumped off the balcony. I followed behind, going outside. When I reached the balcony, I looked down before jumping over it myself. It wasn’t too high, so the landing on my feet wasn’t so bad. At this point, I had a responsibility. I had to save the world _and_ find my loved ones.

**~Cat~**

When Donald walked towards a door, it had slammed open, knocking him into the wall. A girl dressed as a sexualized ninja ran through the room. “Yuffie?” Aerith asked. The girl named Yuffie grabbed Aerith’s arm and forced Aerith to follow her, leading her to safety. Goofy and I stayed with Donald. When the door moved, there lied Donald against the wall. I could have swore I heard Sora’s name on the other side.

“Sora!” I exclaimed. “I have to find him!” I turned to the door and hurried through.

“Wait!” Goofy called.

I didn’t hear what else he had said. I was too focused on finding Sora and my other loved ones. I wondered if Sora had found his family. But… who was there talking to him just now? Did he meet a stranger too? I noticed the broken through window before hurrying towards the opened door that led to the balcony. When I looked down, I noticed Sora and an older man down there. I hurried to climb down while calling Sora’s name.

**~Kairi~**

“Oh, shit!” Roxy shouted.

“What?” Tiff asked.

“I sense another Heartless!” Roxy exclaimed.

“So do I!” Isabelle shouted.

Before we knew it, a Heartless had appeared in the room. Oh, no. They found us. Tiff quickly got her sword and swung it, striking the Heartless and killing it. Tiff ordered, “Move! Now!” She hurried towards the door to the balcony and opened it. She hurried outside and jumped off the balcony. The rest of us followed behind. I hesitated to jump off the balcony for a moment, but soon, I leaped off at last, landing on my feet. Raine was the last one to jump off the balcony. She must have hesitated like I did or something.

“Kairi!” I heard Meg shout, making me turn my head.

“Meg!” I exclaimed.

I ran towards her and wrapped my arms around her, making her wrap my arms around me. I was almost on the verge of crying. This was too much. We pulled apart to look at each other. I noticed three more people.

“Apparently I have an uncle!” Meg shouted.

I raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“That would be me…” the black haired male with freckles commented.

“Oh, hey, Drake,” was all Tiff said.

“Hey…” Drake replied back.

“Heartless appeared in our room, and we had to kill it,” the purple haired male commented. “I’m Lance, by the way.”

“Oh, lovely,” Tiff replied.

Isabelle gulped. “These Heartless make Roxy and I look back.”

Meg paused as she noticed Roxy and Isabelle. “Are those-”

“Good Heartless,” Rory commented. “They’re good.”

Meg frowned. “Then why not call them the opposite of a Heartless? Like Warm-Hearts?”

“That’s so cute!” Isabelle exclaimed.

“CAN WE PLEASE RUN NOW!?” Tiff shouted.

So Meg had an uncle…? I wanted to ask so many questions about that, but I didn’t. I would ask later. When I looked to the side, I noticed a brunet boy with an older brunet boy ahead. At first, I didn't recognize them until the younger one turned to look up. Someone had shouted, “Sora!” Was that… Cat that spoke? Cat jumped off the balcony and landed on her feet. Sora yelled for Cat, then ran towards her and wrapped his arms around her, making her wrap her arms around him back. I took my chance to run towards them.

“Sora! Cat!” I cried out, making Meg, Sara, and Ian follow behind.

“Kairi! Meg! Sara! Ian!” both Sora and Cat shouted before running towards us.

Immediately, we all wrapped arms around each other, hugging each other tightly. We were just happy to be reunited at last. If only Riku was here. Maybe we would find him next. But… what if he wasn’t here at all? Impossible. If we’re all here, then he had to be here too… right? We drew away and looked at each other, almost crying. For once, something good happened. We had each other.

“Where’s Riku!?” Sora asked.

“We don’t know,” I answered.

“He might not be here,” Meg answered.

“Uh, hello?” Sara asked. “Now that I got my brother back, can we all run to safety?”

“I don’t think that’s possible…” Cat answered. “We’re all in great danger.”

“Yeah, definitely,” Ian commented.

“She’s right,” the older brunet male spoke, making us turn to look at him. “You have to do what you have to do to complete this mission. Don’t bother with the small fry. Find the leader of these Heartless! Let’s go!”

“Okay, Leon!” Sora exclaimed.

The man named Leon turned and hurried ahead. I turned to the others, who looked ready to fight. The small fry must have meant these Heartless. Who was their leader? I didn’t know. But we had to find out.

“Let’s go then,” the dark skinned dark brown haired girl spoke. “We got a bigger Heartless to find. I’m Trish, by the way.”

“Agreed,” Phoebe spoke. “Let’s go.”

“I guess we’re working together,” Tiff said. “Come on now.”

We made our way through the dark streets, trying to escape the Heartless that would appear. Leon had said to not worry about them, but find their leader. Who was their leader though? I’m not sure if Leon even knew. I suddenly had an image inside my head. I was a little girl, running away from something. I was screaming for help. I didn’t know what I was running from. I just knew I was trying to get away from someone or something. I almost thought I was running from them instead of the Heartless.

I was snapped back to reality when the group stopped running. We were in the third district. No Heartless were around. For a moment, the fifteen of us thought we were safe. Yet we knew better. No one said a word, but we knew it. We were still in great danger. Yet there were a bunch of us. If the Heartless showed up, with so many of us, it would be fine… right? I hoped so. But… What was I envisioning a while ago?

“All this running around and these Heartless are giving me a headache!” Sara exclaimed. “What’s next? Talking animals falling out of the sky?”

I wanted to speak up, but then we heard the sounds of screaming from the sky. When we looked up, there was a duck and dog, both human sized, falling from the corners of each building before falling towards us. Many of us quickly moved away. Unfortunately, they landed on Sora, breaking their fall. Sora fell face first onto the ground. Sara’s eyes grew wide as she noticed this. The dog and duck took notice of the key in Sora’s hand.

“The key!” they exclaimed.

“Oh, my god, my words came true,” Sara said in a panic.

“Donald! Goofy!” Cat exclaimed.

“You know them?” I asked.

“I just met them,” Cat explained. “The duck is Donald, and the dog is Goofy.” She paused. “Oh, my god. Sora is the chosen one!”

I wanted to comment, but we felt the ground shake. Donald and Goofy quickly got off Sora. Donald had a staff out while Goofy had a shield. Sora stood up and gripped his Keyblade. My own Keyblade appeared in my hand. Meg’s Keyblade appeared as well. Walls suddenly broke through the ground, rising up to block all paths, preventing us from escaping. I could hear Tiff cursing under her breath. Smaller Heartless appeared. We had no choice but to fight back.

I didn’t know how to fight. I needed to know how to fight. How was I supposed to take on these guys? Goofy charged at them with the shield, knocking some of them back. Donald used different elemental magic to strike each Heartless. Even Sora charged at them with the Keyblade. Meg took a heavy breath before she charged at them. Cat and I stood in place. We watched Sora and Meg swing their Keyblades, striking each Heartless.

Others rushed in to attack. Tiff used her sword to swing at the Heartless. Phoebe used elemental spells with her wand to attack. Lance used his own Keyblade to attack, striking the Heartless. Trish used her own sword as well, striking the Heartless. Raine used her purple Keyblade to attack. Drake used a black Keyblade to attack the Heartless. Roxy jumped at the Heartless, using her claws to attack. Isabelle did the same thing as Roxy did. Rory used a katana to charge at the Heartless and swing at them. Sara had a blue Keyblade that looked as though it was made of ice. Ian had a yellow Keyblade that looked like a sandy Keyblade.

“Come on, Cat!” I encouraged her. “We can do this!”

I was the one to charge at a Heartless. I swung my Keyblade at one of them, striking and killing them. I did the same with other Heartless. Meg screamed, having one jump on her and knock her down. I rushed over and stabbed the Heartless, killing it. Meg quickly got back onto her feet. I looked up to see Cat using her Keyblade to fight against the Heartless. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but the Heartless would respawn each time we killed others.

We had earned a few bruises and scratches the more they jumped on us and hit us. We had to avoid more of their attacks to avoid them from getting our hearts. I didn’t want to be eaten alive by these guys. Once we managed to kill the Heartless with many of us here, it was just our team. We looked at each other as we panted. Sweat ran down my forehead. More sweat followed. I looked over at the side.

When we looked up, there were different parts of purple to silver large armor falling from the sky. We all quickly moved away. When it landed on the ground, it bounced upward, then floated in the air. It formed into unconnected parts with arms, legs, stomach, and hed. They floated in the air, not even connected. The Heartless looked right at us. It must have been the Heartless’s leader. This was the big Heartless.

“We gotta take this thing down!” Donald shouted. “Blizzard!”

Donald shot ice at the Heartless, striking it.

“Use the magic on your Keyblade!” Donald shouted.

“How!?” Sora asked.

“Like this! Use elemental ones!” Lance shouted before pointing his Keyblade at the Heartless. “Fire!” Fire shot out of the Keyblade, shooting at the Heartless.

I looked at my Keyblade. Could my Keyblade do that? Before I could even ask that, I noticed the Heartless swing their hand, striking Sara, Lance, and Ian, knocking them backwards, and leaving scratches and bruises on their chest and stomach. The Heartless thrust its hands outward, attempting to strike us. I took my chance to point my Keyblade at it and shout, “Fire!” Fire shot out of the Keyblade, striking its head. I couldn’t believe it. I did it!

We all charged at it and hit it with our weapons and magic, but the Heartless would use its arms and feet to strike us. We were left with bruises, struggling a bit as we tried to get back up and fight. We couldn’t let this thing win. We couldn’t! The Heartless grabbed Donald, yanking him towards it. Donald screamed, attempting to get away. Goofy ran with the shield and hit it, distracting it. It dropped Donald, letting him land onto the ground.

We managed to destroy its feet. We expected it to fall apart after that. It didn’t. It still floated in the air. It didn’t need legs after all. It thrust its arms forward, striking my face and knocking me to the ground. I yelped. Donald shouted, “Cura!” I could feel my face heal right away. Wait… Cura? That actually helped heal us? I didn’t feel any pain after that. Donald used the same spell onto others.

“Kairi!” Sora exclaimed, rushing over to help me onto my feet. “Are you okay!?”

“I’m fine,” I answered. “Let’s kick some ass!”

I tried to sound as encouraging as possible, even though I was afraid. I think Sora could tell that I was afraid unless he was too naive to realize that I was afraid. We managed to fight the Heartless again, this time, destroying its arms. It didn’t need arms. It had its body still. It spun around, having sharp parts attempt to hit us. We tried to run away from it. We didn’t want to be cut up. Sora screamed, having his back cut when he tried to run. Donald quickly casted cura on him.

The fight took at least an hour. We all struggled a bit. Were there more of these? Would we have to face harder enemies? Once we managed to beat it some, we managed to each hit its weak point. It shook, making us run back. When I ran, I didn’t look back until I reached the wall. Then I turned around. The Heartless’s head had dropped to the ground. A heart had left it, going into the air. The Heartless had vanished after that. We did it… We actually defeated the Heartless.

**~Meg~**

The walls finally came down, and Leon and Yuffie showed up to check on us. I was grateful that the fight was over. I didn’t want to have to deal with another one, but I had a feeling that wasn’t our only enemy. There would be more on the way. I wasn’t even sure if I was cut out for this. Sure, I put up a decent fight, but was this something I really wanted to do? I didn’t know. I was deeply afraid. Donald and Goofy explained the situation, wanting us to know why they had been searching for Sora.

Apparently, their king, Mickey Mouse, had disappeared. He went on a secret mission. Donald and Goofy’s job is to meet up with him, with help from the prince of Kingdom Hearts, Sora. Kingdom Hearts was the ruler of all, a part of one sky, of the whole universe. Kingdom Hearts was the most powerful kingdom. Yet it had to remain a secret. No one else needed to know about it. Even King Mickey wasn’t as powerful as the rulers of Kingdom Hearts.

Donald and Goofy were startled by Roxy and Isabelle, but others had to reassure them that they were good Heartless, unarmed, and not harmful at all. Roxy and Isabelle frowned as they looked at each other. I felt sorry for them. To be born a Heartless and automatically deemed a monster… The others suggested some sort of disguise for them so no one would think they were Heartless. They suggested other clothes and a veil on them. Apparently, it wasn’t their first time doing something like that.

“So, you were looking for me?” Sora asked.

Donald and Goofy nodded.

“They, too, have been seeking the wielder of the Keyblade,” Leon explained, with Yuffie nodding in agreement.

“Hey, why don’t you come with us?” Goofy asked. “We can go to other worlds on our vessel.”

“But how am I a prince of Kingdom Hearts?” Sora questioned. “Wouldn’t my sister and cousin be royalty too?”

“Yeah!” Donald answered. “But uh…” Donald and Goofy looked at each other with concern, not sure how to explain it.

“I know,” Tiff spoke. “Sora, your parents… they were rulers of Kingdom Hearts. They whisked you, your sister, and your cousin away. It’s unknown what happened to them. Rumor has it that the whole family was slaughtered. Either way, you’re the next ruler. You might even be a king if your parents are dead. That would explain why you guys were adopted out as babies.”

I looked over at Sora. I wasn’t sure how he was processing it. He might have been overwhelmed. Or perhaps underwhelmed. Underwhelmed by the fact that his biological parents were dead, but overwhelmed by the fact that he was now a prince, possibly a king. Sora didn’t say anything. He looked stunned more than anything, but didn’t look as though he would panic too much about it.

“So… I’m royalty?” Sora asked. “An heir?”

“Yeah,” Tiff answered. “I know it’s a lot to take in… but the world needs you now, Sora.”

Sora frowned as he looked down. “I wonder if we can all also find our other parents and Riku…”

“Of course,” Donald agreed.

Sora perked up a bit, but still looked a bit depressed. So was I. I found no urge to smile. I was still afraid. I didn’t want to deal with this again, but I didn’t want to be left behind. Goofy and Donald whispered something to each other, almost as if talking about our situation. Would they agree to help us find Kairi, Sora, and Cat’s parents, along with Riku and my brother, Aiden? I had a feeling they didn’t want to. They were too focused on their own king.

“Guys, go with them,” Leon urged. “Especially if you want to find your friends and family.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Sora replied.

“But you can’t come along looking like that. Understand?” Donald spoke, making Goofy look over at him. “No frowning. No sad face. Okay?”

“Yeah,” Goofy said as he leaned his face towards Donald’s, “you gotta look funny, like us! Ahyuck!”

Donald pushed Goofy’s face back. “This boat runs on happy faces.”

“Happy?” Sora questioned. We all looked at Sora. Now the attention was on him. We waited for him to do something, anything to indicate that he was all right. Sora leaned down, having his hands behind his back. Sora perked up, a wide smile on his face as he shouted, “CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE.”

Honestly, I would have thought he was smoking crack if he did that to me. Technically, he was doing that at me. He showed his face off to all of us. Sora must have noticed us, because his smile faded. We all started laughing, all except Tiff, Drake, and Trish. Did they not have a sense of humor or something? That was a funny face. He did good.“That’s one funny face!” Goofy exclaimed, laughing still.

Sora smiled. “Okay, why not? I’ll go with you guys.”

“We’ll take separate vessels,” Tiff spoke, holding her hand out. “Since one won’t fit everyone. I’m Trinity, but call me Tiff.”

“Lance here!” Lance commented, holding his hand out.

Everyone held their hands out as they spoke, forming a team.

“Drake,” was all Drake said.

“I’m Phoebe,” Phoebe spoke.

“Rory!” Rory introduced.

“Trish here,” Trish replied.

“Roxy!” Roxy introduced.

“Name’s Isabelle,” Isabelle introduced. “This is Raine.”

Raine waved at us.

“I’m Sara,” Sara answered.

“Ian here!” Ian replied.

“Donald Duck,” Donald introduced.

“Name’s Goofy,” Goofy replied.

“I’m Sora,” Sora introduced.

“I’m Kairi,” Kairi replied.

“Catrina, but call me Cat,” Cat replied.

I was the last one to speak. “I’m Megan, but call me Meg.”

Goofy laughed. “All for one, one for all.”

**~Riku~**

When I was taken into a place called Hollow Bastion, inside the castle, what I saw wasn’t something I expected. The castle was dark and gloomy. It was huge. It had everything, but it had a dark atmosphere. Maleficent was the one that man wanted me to meet. She said nothing as we walked throughout the castle. We took some moving floors outside, connected to magical wires, that moved us up the castle. Once we reached the top, we walked through the dark halls. For some reason, I wasn’t afraid of this. I felt at home.

Who I saw was someone I didn’t want to see at all. There were two boys waiting on us. One had silver hair that was shorter than mine, messy. His eyes were purple. He was muscular like I was. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought he was my brother. On the right beside him, there was Meg’s brother. Wait… Meg’s… brother? Why was he here!? He was the one who continued to torment Meg.

“YOU!” I shouted, attempting to charge at him.

“You?” Aiden questioned.

“What are you doing here!?” I shouted, only to be held back by the other silver haired guy. “Let go of me!”

“They are here to help me as well,” Maleficent answered. “I will not tolerate a fight here at this moment.”

I turned to look at her. “Help!?” Did that man also speak with Aiden and this guy holding me back? “You’re having this freak help you!?”

“Hey…” Aiden said coldly.

“I suppose you two are an acquaintance,” she said. “Perhaps you two will get along once you work together. If I see a fight, there will be consequences.” She turned to leave. “Talk to each other if you must. I will be back.”

I jerked away from the other guy and stormed towards Maleficent, following her. “You never said you had other people working for you!”

“You never asked,” she said. “Besides, I have many on my side. Sometimes you must push your differences aside to complete your goal.”

“Aiden is not one of them,” I snapped.

“Calm yourself, child,” she said, turning to me. “Aiden and Rhys-” she must have meant that guy holding me back. “-are useful, but they won’t be here for long. It depends on what they do. I really need you more than anyone else.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“You will find out in time,” she answered. “In the meantime, push your differences aside. You’ll need each other for the greater good.” With that, she turned around and walked away.

“Are you done being a little bitch now?” Aiden called.

“Aiden,” Rhys spoke up. “Not necessary.”

“What?” Aiden asked. “He’s the one trying to get with my sister.”

“Shut up,” I snapped, turning to him. “You’re lucky I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Aiden snapped.

“ENOUGH!” Rhys shouted. “It’s just as Maleficent told Aiden and I. We need to work together for the greater good.”

“The greater good…” I hissed out. “What does she need us for?”

“You mean what do they need us for?” Rhys asked.

“Is she non-binary?” Riku asked.

“No, I meant ‘they’ as in there’s five others besides her,” Rhys answered. “They’re all working together to go against some guy with a key.”

“Now they’re all probably bitching because this guy killed a giant Heartless,” Aiden answered.

“What?” I asked. “We’re going against someone who has a key?”

“It’s a long story,” Rhys said. “Maleficent will be back after her meeting. She’ll want to talk to each of us. So we’re going to have to work together for this.”

I was lost. I didn’t know what was going on, or what Aiden was here for. I asked, “Have either of you spoken with a man before coming here?”

“You mean the one in the brown robe and hood?” Aiden asked.

“That one!” I exclaimed.

“Yeah, why?” Rhys asked.

“Just… wondering,” I said. “I wonder what we’ll have to do.”

“Only one way to find out,” Rhys said. “In the meantime, try not to kill each other, okay? We’re going to need each other if we want to complete the mission, and do what we have to do to complete our own personal goals.”


	6. Chapter 5: Riku and Sora

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So next chapter will probably be a bit longer. It'll probably be either in one of the girls's POV. So... Yeah! This one is somewhat shorter, but I'm hoping to make next chapter longer ^.^

**~Riku~**

Apparently there was a prince or a king of Kingdom Hearts who ruled all worlds with one sky. No one knew who it was. Or maybe those guys knew, but wouldn’t tell us. Or maybe these two idiots knew too and wouldn’t tell me. I wanted to ask more questions about it, but there was no point if they wouldn’t say a word. I was already tired of being around Aiden and Rhys. I wanted to especially punch Aiden, although I had a feeling that wouldn’t go well. Was he trying to protect Meg or something? Or was he trying to control her?

“So… they carry the ultimate Keyblade?” I questioned.

“Not the ultimate one, but one is their main weapon,” Rhys answered. “No one knows who they are.”

“So you say…” I commented.

“I’m bored,” Aiden said bluntly.

“That makes two of us,” I replied coldly as I rolled my eyes.

“Like I would ever agree with you on anything,” Aiden snapped.

“We agree to disagree,” I spat out.

“Enough!” Rhys shouted. “Why don’t we just go see Maleficent and ask for ourselves? Surely she’ll have to tell us. Afterwards, I’ll show you to your rooms. Come on.”

Rhys led the way. Aiden and I looked at each other before quickly looking away. We followed Rhys from behind. We walked through the halls of the castle until we reached the outside. We walked across the outside until we reached the doors. Rhys was the first to open it, stepping inside. Aiden and I followed behind. We just about had a fight about who would get through the door first. I pushed Aiden out of the way and walked past him.

I could have swore it took all of Aiden’s might to not attack me. I wasn’t afraid though. I could take him on. We walked towards the large doors. Rhys pressed his ear against it, listening in. I wanted to ask what he was doing, but Rhys quickly shushed me. Aiden scowled before he pushed past me. Now it took all  _ my _ might to not attack him. He pressed his own ear against the door. I rolled my eyes and approached them, then stood beside Rhys, away from Aiden, and pressed my own ear against the door.

“That little squirt took down that Heartless!” some guy spoke. “Who’d have thought it?”

“Such is the power of the Keyblade,” someone else said. “The child’s strength is not his own.”

Who were these people? What did I get myself involved in? Never mind those freaks. I guessed that the prince or king was definitely some kid. It can’t be someone I knew, right? I doubt Sora would actually be capable of something like this.

“Why don’t we turn him into a Heartless?” one woman said with a laugh. “That’ll settle things quick enough.”

“And the brat’s friends are the other king’s lackeys,” some guy that sounded like a pirate said. “Swoggle me eyes, they’re all bigle rats by the look of it.”

“You’re no prize yourself,” another guy said, laughing so hard I thought he would break.

“Shut up!” the pirate guy shouted.

“Enough,” Maleficent spoke. “The Keyblade has chosen this newly found king. Will it be he who conquers the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow him? Either way, he could be quite useful.”

Before I could try to storm in, Rhys had grabbed my arm and began to drag me away.

“Hey!” I exclaimed. “I thought we were going in there!”

“So did I…” Aiden said, following behind.

“It’s clear this meeting is important,” Rhys said, dragging me outside. “We’ll ask questions when she’s done.”

“Who are those people?” I asked. “Who are they talking about?”

“We don’t know,” Rhys answered. “We keep telling you that, but you won’t listen.”

“I want to know,” I snapped. “I know there’s more to it than what she’s telling us.”

“Maybe there is, but we don’t know,” Rhys commented. “Besides, we would have been caught if we stayed there a bit longer. Just wait in your room for now.”

“I don’t even know where my room is around here,” I answered.

“I’ll show you,” Rhys said irritably.

“Don’t get irritated at me,” I snapped. “I’m just stating the truth.”

Rhys shrugged. “Just continue to follow me.”

I didn’t say another word after that. This wasn’t going anywhere anyway. We went down the castle, making our way through the other halls. There were some silver to light purple colored walls and floors in the halls, some with no other walls. Some parts of the floor didn’t cover everything. All we saw was the abyss down below. Once we reached a door, Rhys opened it.

“Riku,” Rhys said. “This will be your room.”

The room was simple. Just a bed, a night stand, a window, and it was just a room that looked lonely and had nothing else in it. This was my room? Could I decorate it however I wanted or something? Then again, I had nothing with me. I didn’t even bring any more clothes. I stepped inside the room, looking up at the ceiling. How long would I have to stay here before I could complete my task?

“I’ll come get you when Maleficent needs us. Stay here,” Rhys ordered before he closed the door behind him.

I looked around the room, trying to find anything that could be comforting. The only comforting thing was the window and the bed. I sat down on the bed, lost in thought. I didn’t want to wait. I wanted to complete this task already. Why did that man send me here if I was just going to be trapped in my room? I didn’t want to stay in here. I already felt as though I had enough rest. I did nothing but lay down on the bed.

When I felt too bored, having been in my room for at least thirty minutes, laying in bed, I got up and approached the door. I opened it and stepped out. No one was out in the halls. I took my time to explore more of the castle. The first place I went to was a library, but it looked as though some things were blocked out. I didn’t have time to sort things out. I turned around and continued to explore more of the castle.

After another thirty minutes of looking around, I turned around to go back to my room, only to see Rhys there. He didn’t startle me. I didn’t even react. I just felt irritated seeing him. He looked just as irritated seeing me. He was probably tired from being Maleficent’s little bitch. Would that become me? Rhys looked as though he was in his twenties. It must have been irritating watching over kids that you dislike.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“Why didn’t you stay in your room like I told you too?” Rhys asked.

“You’re not the boss of me,” I snapped. “Where’s Aiden.”

Rhys’s purple eye twitched as he stood at me. “He went to see Maleficent after I told him she needs him. Maleficent needs you too. Come on.”

Having no other choice, I followed Rhys ahead. I wondered what his story was. I didn’t care for Aiden. I already knew his crap. I didn’t even want to ask again. Rhys, on the other hand, looked as though he could be calm at times, despite getting irritated. Why was he here? What did he want? What was the point of him being here? I had no time to ask. Rhys didn’t seem like the type to want to answer that question. If he did, he would expect me to give answers, and I really didn’t want to tell him anything. So it was best to keep my mouth shut.

When we climbed higher up the castle, we made our way to the same halls that Rhys, Aiden, and I snuck too. It was the same place where I wanted to confront Maleficent before being dragged away. When Rhys opened the doors, he held the door for me to step inside. I did, stepping into the room to find seven people there. Aiden was one of them. Maleficent was another one of them too. Her stupid crow was on her staff.

The other five I didn’t recognize. There was a man with flaming blue fire as hair on his head, looking like a mix of a dead clown and the Greek god of the Underworld. His skin was deathly blue. Then there was another man who looked like a vizier, wearing a red robe with a red vizier’s hat while carrying a snake staff. He had a red parrot on his shoulder. There was an overweight cecaelia, having white hair with tentacles that could strangle someone. There was that pirate who looked like a captain with a hook for a hand on his left hand. Then there was a bag of rags like an overweight man, looking as though it was Halloween.

“This is the boy helping us?” the vizier questioned.

“He’s going to grow up to be even more dashing if you ask me,” the cecaelia woman said. “He’s probably useful for our mission.”

“He is,” Maleficent spoke. “Very.”

“As long as he doesn’t waste our time, then fine,” the pirate said.

“I’m sure he doesn’t waste time like some people here,” the halloween guy stated.

“Looks like a shorty actually,” the god of the underworld said. “What is he? Just a kid?”

“What do you want with me?” I questioned. “Why am I here?”

Maleficent grinned. “I’m sure Aiden and Rhys have explained the most important information to you. Now you’ll hear more, and will have to complete a task to prove your worth.”

“And that is…?” I asked.

She moved towards me. “Listen carefully.”

**~Sora~**

“Make sure you’re prepared for the journey ahead of you,” Leon stated to me. “We don’t know how far the Heartless have spread.”

“Check out the shops here,” Yuffie added. “They’ve got some pretty neat stuff!”

“This is from all of us,” Aerith said before handing me five hundred dollars. “Spend it as you see fit.”

“Money?” I asked.

“Yeah!” Yuffie answered. “Only it’s spelled M-U-N-N-Y.”

“... Munny?” I asked again. “I thought it was spelled-”

“Your world must spell it differently,” Leon commented. “Here, it’s spelled that way instead.”

“And this is from Leon,” Aerith spoke as she handed me an elixir.

I took it, then noticed Leon turning his head with his arms crossed. It was as if he was too embarrassed to admit that he did something kind. What was it with other dudes and not wanting to come off kind? Was it because of toxic masculinity norms or something? I would think that in other worlds, there wouldn’t be such norms. But wait… If I was a prince… shouldn’t they bow to me or something? Or is this their way of showing respect towards me?

“Well, thank you!” I replied. “I really appreciate this.”

“Good luck!” Yuffie said cheerfully.

“I hope you find your family and your friend,” Aerith said.

“All of you look out for each other,” Leon added. 

“We will,” I answered.

Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith began to walk away after that. I wanted to ask more questions, but I would have to ask them to those working for me. We would have to look after each other if we wanted to complete our missions. All I wanted was to find Riku and our families. Just because I feared my parents rejecting me didn’t mean I didn’t love them. When I found them, I would have to tell them the truth. I walked over towards the others, who were having a conversation. I stood behind Kairi.

Then, I felt something, making me freeze in place. Cramps were there, tormenting me. I knew what was coming. Did it have to come in at this time? I didn’t want to reveal anything right now, and I certainly didn’t want Donald and Goofy to question me. I wanted my pronouns to be respected. Luckily, they seemed too distracted to care, talking to the others. They didn’t seem to notice that I was in distress. Mother nature was a bitch. I couldn’t wait for it to stop when I take hormones.

“I think I know what we need to use a little bit of munny for,” I spoke.

Kairi turned to me. “Munny?”

“Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith gave us some,” I told Kairi.

Kairi guessed right. “Pads?”

The fact Kairi knew that so quickly didn’t actually surprise me anymore. I nodded my head.

“You don’t have your own?” she asked.

“Well, when you're focused on not dying during a time your homeworld disappears, you don’t really think about stuff like that,” I reminded her.

She smiled before she said, “Let’s go then.”

We walked towards a shop. We spent at least a hundred munny, stocking up on potions for the cramps and for any other injuries during our fights, some food and water, and pads in case any girl needed it. The first thing I did was run to a bathroom and put a pad on. Soon, we walked out of the store with a bag of stuff. We noticed Tiff approach us, having a surprised look on her face. Why did she look so surprised? I didn’t think she was the type to be surprised. She stopped in front of us, making Kairi and I stop. She was tall compared to us, in which we were a short height for young teenagers.

“Kairi,” Tiff spoke. “Could you give Sora and I a moment?”

Kairi looked over at me with concern. I knew that she wasn’t sure whether to leave me or not.

I smiled at her. “It’s okay, Kairi. What’s the worst that can happen?”

Kairi nodded before she took the rest of the bags from me before walking away. I looked up at Tiff.

“Are you transgender?” Tiff asked.

I wasn’t so sure to call it rude or if she was genuinely curious. Maybe both? Either way, my heart pounded heavily against my chest. I could have swore I started to sweat. What if she made fun of me for being trans?

“I mean… why?” I asked, not bothering to answer the question.

“Well, Trish and Rory guessed that you were based on how you acted and look,” Tiff commented. “I thought it was rude to just speculate, but I had to ask.

“How do they-?”

“They’re nonbinary. Have you noticed the way they act?”

I paused. “Nonbinary? Trish and Rory? But I thought-”

“Trish doesn’t mind being called a ‘she’ or ‘her’ while Rory doesn’t mind being called a ‘he’ or ‘his’ or ‘him’,” Tiff explained. “But they still would like for you to acknowledge that they’re nonbinary. So they can tell.”

I frowned. “I mean… I am trans… Are you going to make fun of me?”

“What?”

“Are you going to make fun of me?”

She seemed genuinely stunned by that answer. “Sora, if I make fun of you, it’s not because of you being trans. I make fun of a lot of people, but someone’s sexual orientation and being trans is not one of them… It’s because of people’s stupidity.”

“Thanks, Tiff…”

“Sora, Rory knows some people who are doctors. He can help you get set up with one. Do you want to transition or take hormones?”

“Of course I do! But we also have a world to save!”

“I understand that, but we can make time too. When things are peaceful for now, Rory can help you get hormones from an actual doctor who isn’t going to judge you. Okay? Talk to Rory when you have a chance.”

“I…” The thought of being able to have hormones and transition sounded ideal. I didn’t have to wear this binder all the time if it meant I could have a body of a male. Then again, this binder has been a life savior. I was grateful to Ian for buying this for me, and hiding it from our parents. For now, the binder and hormones would have to do. I nodded my head. “Okay. I will. But… does anyone else know about this?”

“Others except Donald and Goofy, who seem oblivious,” Tiff said. “If you don’t want to tell them, that’s fine, but there’s nothing to be ashamed of either, okay? If they have a problem with it, I will personally turn Donald into dinner and Goofy will have to eat him.”

That… sounded violent… I nodded again. “Thank you for your support.”

“You’re welcome,” Tiff said with a nod. “Come on. Let’s go.”

Tiff led the way back to the others. I followed behind. I guessed it was only right to tell Donald and Goofy that I was trans. Yet the thought of being rejected terrified me. I felt sweat move down the back of my neck. My heart pounded heavily against my chest like a rabbit. Once we arrived back to the others, they were all having a conversation about something. I picked up on the conversation, talking about leaving for other worlds.

“The gummi ship is outside that gate,” Donald spoke, pointing to the doors to outside Traverse Town.

“Uh, what now?” Meg asked.

“That’s our ship,” Donald answered. 

“Wait ‘til you see it!” Goofy exclaimed.

“Hold on,” Donald spoke. “Sora, Sara, Ian, Kairi, Cat, and Meg. This is for you.”

Donald raised his staff and casted a spell, in which the magic went towards our Keyblades we held. I wanted to step back, yet I didn’t. It must have been other spells we could use besides just elemental magic.

“Now you have more magic,” Donald replied. “Goofy, give them that other thing.”

“What?” Goofy asked.

“You know!”

“Oh, yeah.”

Goofy held out his shield before magic left the shield, going towards our Keyblades. It must have been another gift. I was grateful for the gifts. Now we would have more abilities to defend ourselves with, and even fight with.

“Abilities allow you to do all sorts of things,” Goofy said. “Guess we should look for more along the way, huh?”

“Okay, is that all?” Kairi asked.

“Let’s get going!” I spoke.

“Not ‘til we’re ready!” Donald spoke again. 

“Well, I see a big adventure coming their way!” someone else spoke, making me jerk my head side by side to find the source of the voice.

“Who said that?” I asked.

Cat pointed downward, making me look. I didn’t see him at first, but then I had to look real carefully to find him… or a bug. It was a cricket with a gray hat and a black jacket with white gloves. He looked prim and proper, and yet… he was a cricket. He could talk too? Should I really be surprised? Really? Yet I was. There were talking animals and bugs. I turned to look at Sara, who looked just as stunned as I was. I turned back to the cricket.

“Looks like it’s up to me to keep track of it all in my journal!” he said. “Cricket’s the name. Jiminy Cricket at your service!”

He jumped upward like how crickets jumped, immediately jumping into my pocket. I screamed and almost slapped that pocket with my hand.

“Don’t crush him!” Meg shouted.

“Don’t kill him!” Ian shouted.

“I…” I frowned. “Sorry… It just startled me.” I suddenly turned to Donald and Goofy. “Uh… Can I talk to you two alone for a bit?”

Donald and Goofy looked at me, then at each other, and then back to me. Donald answered, “Sure! What is it?”

I looked at Kairi, my eyes pleading for her to get the others away. Kairi seemed to have caught on to my cue. Kairi nodded. “Okay! Guys, let’s go.”

“Uh, Kairi?” Ian asked. “Where are we-?”

“Going to see Tiff and them,” Kairi answered. “Let’s go. This is important for Sora.”

“Sora… are you sure?” Tiff asked.

“Positive,” Sora answered.

Tiff nodded before she clapped her hands and said, “Let’s go, you guys.”

Tiff and Kairi managed to get the others away from the scene. I looked over at Donald and Goofy. I don’t know why I felt the need to tell them. Maybe perhaps I wanted to think there was nothing to be ashamed of. It was just as Tiff said. Nothing to be ashamed of. I just had to tell them the truth and hope that things wouldn’t be awkward. I just hoped they wouldn’t react worse than how my parents would’ve reacted if I had told them. I could feel myself ready to faint. I just hoped this would go well.

“Well, just so you guys know…” I said, rubbing the back of my head. “I’m not like other guys…”

“We know,” Donald said bluntly. “You’re the prince.”

“No, not that,” I corrected him. “I mean like… some would think I’m a princess if I didn’t correct them.”

“Are you worried ya look like a girl?” Goofy asked.

“No…” I commented. “I mean… kind of? I mean I don’t have male parts…”

“Sora…” Goofy spoke. “Are you trans?”

“WHAT?” Donald asked. “Is that why you got pads just now!?”

“So you noticed…” I said with a frown, shame overtaking me. “Yeah, I am-”

Donald quickly held up his staff and shouted, “Cura!”

Huh…? I felt the spell hit me, and the cramps went away after that. I paused, surprised by this. Did Donald just get rid of my cramps?

“That’s to help with cramps,” Donald said with a smile.

“Ahyuck, that doesn’t mean anything, Sora,” Goofy replied with a smile. “We don’t think any differently. As long as you’re the prince and can help us, it’s fine.”

“Yeah!” Donald answered. “Anyone who makes fun of you for that will catch on fire!”

I couldn’t believe it. I actually felt accepted by them. I didn’t think they would actually not care whether I was trans or not. They still saw me as the prince or king who needed to save the world either way. I could actually be myself around this group. I felt safe. I felt comfortable. I felt as though I was accepted. I felt relieved. Finally, I felt at home… but… what about my parents and Riku? I still had to find them.

“Thank you,” I said with a smile.

“You’re welcome!” Goofy said.

“Come on!” Donald said. “We got a gummi ship to catch!”

Donald and Goofy turned to leave the city, as did the others. I turned to see Meg arguing with Drake about something. She kept asking something, with Drake denying her an answer. Drake finally walked away, still denying her an answer. What did Meg want to know? Meg looked down, ashamed as if she was about to cry. I approached her. When I got closer, she looked over at me, then quickly looked away. I didn’t know what it was that she wanted out of Drake. Was it because of her brother or something?

“What was that about?” I asked.

Meg frowned. “Drake won’t tell me who my birth parents are.”

“What?”

“He literally knows, yet claims they asked him not to tell me, that they wanted to tell me themselves. But what if they’re dead?”

“What does it matter who your birth parents are?”

Meg looked over at me. “What?”

“They didn’t raise you,” I told her. “All that matters is the people in your life who you care about the most. Doesn’t that matter?”

“Of course it does,” Meg replied. “But… it’s just nice to know where I came from.”

“I… I get that actually…”

Meg sighed. “I wish I knew where Aiden was.”

My face turned red at the mention of his name. “Why do you care about your brother so much? He mentally abuses you.”

“He’s my brother, Sora,” Meg answered. “He’s the only family I have.”

“Are we not family?”

“Of course you are!”

“Then what’s holding you back from acknowledging that?”

Meg gulped. “I’m just… I’m just afraid of relationships changing. That we won’t be the same afterwards.”

I frowned. “Meg… That won’t happen, okay? We’re family. Besides… Don’t you want to find Riku?”

Meg perked up at the mention of Riku. “Of course I do! I miss him like crazy. I want to know where he is too.”

I smiled. “We’ll find him. I know he’s okay.”

“I hope so…”

I paused. “Hey, Meg?”

“Yes?”

“If I’m a prince, does that mean you have to…?”

“Call you Your Highness or Majesty, or bow to you?”

“Yeah!”

Meg bursted out laughing. “HELL NO! In your dreams! I’m not about to do that shit!” Meg continued to laugh as she walked past me. Well, that certainly didn’t work, now did it?

I followed Meg from behind, walking towards the gates of Traverse Town. Once we stepped out of the gates, there was nothing out here except for two gummi ships. They both looked like rockets, but were thicker but also smaller. One was orange, which looked like it belonged to Donald and Goofy, and the other looked black, looking as though it belonged to Tiff’s group. I followed Donald into his gummi ship. When I stepped inside, it looked more like a house, but also looked like a rocket with different buttons and other things to pull on.

“Whoa!” I exclaimed, looking around quickly. “This is so cool! What does this button do? What does that do!? What-?”

“Hey, you!” I heard someone through a television speak, making me turn towards the television. There were two chipmunks. One with a black nose and another with a red nose. The one with the black nose said, “Don’t touch that! Don’t you have respect for this place?”

“Seriously, kids these days,” the one with the red nose said as he sweeped the floor with a broom.

Why was I not surprised by anything anymore? There were talking chipmunks now. Great. Donald approached the TV and said, “We’re ready to take off soon, Chip and Dale!”

“Well, be careful out there!” Chip, the one with the black nose, commented. “There’s a lot of Heartless out there!”

“Stay safe and happy flying!” Dale, the one with the red nose, commented.

Kairi, Cat, Meg, Sara, Ian, and Goofy got on the ship. The others must have gotten on theirs. I looked out the window to see their ship lift in the air, a loud sound from the rocket. After a moment, when the rocket positioned itself, it took off into space in less than a second, going over thousands of miles per hour. Would that be us at any moment? I wasn’t sure to be terrified or excited. We all took a seat in the chairs, having Donald control the wheel of the ship. He pressed some buttons. We felt the rocket ship lift and shake.

Cat looked the most nervous out of all of us, gripping her seat. Meg looked the most excited, laughing as she kicked her legs a bit. Kairi tried to remain calm. Sara pretended to not be nervous, although I knew she was. Ian looked as excited as Meg did. I wasn’t sure how to feel about this. Donald handled the controls before shouting, “BLAST OFF!” The rocket took off at thousands of miles per hour. I felt my body nearly fall backwards from how fast the rocket went, like my whole body would rip apart. Cat, Kairi, Sara, and I screamed. Ian and Meg cheered it on, laughing as they felt the rocket take off. I wasn’t sure how to feel about this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right! Kudos and comments are appreciated if you enjoyed it!


	7. Chapter 6: Cat

Once we went through outer space, the ship was on autopilot. We would be alerted if there was another world. I looked out the window. I couldn’t help but think about that man I had poisoned before he was killed by the Heartless. I actually got someone killed. Then again, he shouldn’t have tried to kidnap me in the first place, or that wouldn’t have happened. Still, the thought of actually hurting someone, good or bad, worried me. If my friends saw me like this… they would abandon me, maybe throw me out into space to suffocate.

“Cat?” I heard Kairi speak, making me turn to look at her. “Are you okay?”

I nodded my head. “Yeah, why?”

“You look nervous.”

“Considering we’re in outer space, of course I’m nervous. Aren’t you?”

“A little, but… now I’m excited. We’re actually going to see more worlds. Maybe we’ll run into my birth place.”

“Maybe…” I frowned. “Maybe then you’ll have your answers.”

Kairi tilted her head. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

_ No… _

“Yeah,” I answered.

Before we could continue our conversation, we heard the alarm go off, indicating there was another world. Donald yelled for us to get to our seats, in which the rest of us did. Donald took the wheel and turned off autopilot. He gravitated towards another world. We waited as we felt the ship move downward. I couldn’t believe it. We were actually in another world. It felt like a dream. It would only become real once we actually landed and got off the ship to step on the ground. 

We felt the ship land. Donald had turned off the ship and had the doors open. I looked out the window to see beautiful green grass with a city nearby. There was a tree there, a large one that one could sit on the branches. It looked almost like our world, only ours was an island. The sky was a perfect shade of blue with a few clouds in the sky. Sora had jumped up from his seat and looked out the window to see for himself.

“Everybody off!” Donald ordered.

All of us had moved to get off the ship. I was the last one to get off. I stepped towards the outside and froze. I looked down the steps, then moved. Once I slowly pressed my foot on the grass, then I knew it was for real. We were in another world. I moved forward towards the others. I wondered if they thought the same thing as I did. Meg spun around in happiness to be in another world, laughing. When I turned back around, the gummi ship had vanished. The others seemed to have noticed as well.

“Where did it go!?” Ian asked.

“Calm down,” Donald answered. “It’s being hidden so no one knows we’re from another world. We can’t tell anyone.”

“Where’s Tiff and them?” Kairi asked.

“They’re probably behind,” Goofy answered. “Or went to another world.”

“But… didn’t they leave before us?” Meg asked.

“Maybe they had something to do,” Donald commented. “Or they’re waiting on us to land first. Come on. We got a king to find.”

“And our parents and Riku!” Sora exclaimed.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Donald replied, waving a hand dismissively.

“Dude, you better be serious about helping us, or I’m turning you into duck stew,” Sara commented.

Donald looked at Sara and said, “I will, I will, don’t worry.”

I wondered if Donald was serious about us finding Riku and our parents. If he wasn’t, then we would have felt used, being nothing more than just Keyblade wielders helping them find their king, not even considering how we felt about it. Maybe Donald only agreed just so we would help them, but wouldn’t actually do it. I didn’t know. It was only a guess. I had hoped that my theory isn't true. I wished that I was wrong.

“Where should we start?” Kairi asked.

Before anyone could answer, we noticed something passing by. At first, we assumed it was a normal rabbit. There was no Heartless here. Just a rabbit… Until I looked closer at it. Was that…? Was that a rabbit with a…? It almost seemed surreal. It was as if someone had dressed up the rabbit and taught them how to walk on two legs rather than just hop. The others seemed to have noticed what I noticed as well.

“Is that a rabbit with glasses, a waistcoat, and a watch!?” Meg questioned out loud.

“Why am I not surprised…?” Sara asked.

The rabbit had looked at his watch and began to hop away. “Oh my fur and whiskers! I’m late, I’m late, I’m late!”

“Wait!” Sora exclaimed. “Maybe he knows where our parents and Riku are!”

“Maybe the king too!” Goofy exclaimed as well.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Ian asked. “Let’s go ask him.”

“Hey!” Sora called, chasing after the rabbit. Only Sara and I stood behind them. “Hey, wait! We just have a question!”

“I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date!” the rabbit explained, still hopping away. “No time to say hello, goodbye! I’m late, I’m late, I’m late!”

Wait, what? What was he late for? Couldn’t he just stop for a moment to answer the question? Sara and I looked at each other as if this was the stupidest moment ever. Of course, there would probably be more stupid moments. We ran after the others to follow behind. I said nothing the whole time, but followed behind. Sora still called for the rabbit, who ran towards a cave. Why were we chasing the rabbit if he had something to do? Maybe he was late for a date or something. Or even a party.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, I’m overdue,” the rabbit continued before he ran under the cave. “I’m really a stew. No time to say goodbye, hello! I’m late, I’m late, I’m late!”

All of us stopped in front of the cave. This must have been his home. We should probably leave him alone. I wanted to suggest this, but no voice came out of my lips. Meg looked over at me as if waiting to speak. I looked at her and shook my head. Meg nodded her head and turned towards the others. She must have understood the gesture. Good. That meant Meg was finally picking up on social cues. I knew she had trouble with that at times.

“Guys?” Meg spoke. “Maybe we should-”

“He probably knows something,” Sora said in a determined tone. “We have to know.”

“Uh, Sora?” Goofy asked. “What if this is his home? We haven’t even been invited.”

“It’s a cave,” Sora commented. “Anyone can crawl under here.”

Sora knelt down and began to crawl under it. The girls and I looked at each other with concern. We turned back to see Donald follow behind. Goofy stood at them for a moment before he knelt down and crawled under there as well. Ian followed after them. Sara shrugged before she followed behind. None of us wanted to go in there. What if there was a predator waiting for us or something? What if it ate the rabbit? Then we heard Sora scream. Ian, Sara, Donald, and Goofy were yelling something as if trying to help Sora. Kairi gasped, hurried over, knelt down, and began to crawl under as well. Meg followed behind. My heart pounded heavily against my chest.

_ “Go help them, Cat!” _ I thought before I followed behind, hoping it wasn’t a predator that I was about to face.

Once I crawled under into the dark cave, finding myself leaning away towards the light, I noticed Donald, Goofy, Meg, Ian, Sara, and Kairi trying to pull Sora up from a hole. I gasped as I crawled towards them. However, that was a big mistake. When I got closer to them, the ground collapsed, all eight of us falling down the rabbit hole. We all screamed, falling down. My only hope was that we didn’t end up in hell or something. Here we were, dropping from the face of the earth, screaming for help. No one would come get us.

Then, like feathers we were, we began to float downward. We were… floating? That seemed surreal to me. Why were we floating? Around us were couches on walls, floating lamps around us, and books flying around. This wasn’t just hell or disappearing from the face of the earth. This was a surreal experience. It was insanity. The others took notice of all these as well. What was down here?

“What the heck?” Kairi spoke. “Why are there…?”

“Whoa…” Sora spoke.

I turned around to see Meg doing a front flip, laughing at himself. Goofy had pretended to be laying on a net or a couch or something, floating down with his hands behind his head, about to take a nap. Donald looked at Meg and Goofy like he wanted to smack them on the side of the head. Kairi smiled as she spun around, giggling as she did so. Sora pretended to dance, laughing as he did so. Donald gave up, sighing before he did a backflip. I smiled as I began to dance as well. Ian laughed as he did a dance move, grinning. Sara did a backflip as well, laughing.

Sora had grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him, pretending to do a ballroom dance with me. I couldn’t help but start laughing. Kairi pulled Meg towards her and pretended to do the same thing. Donald had pretended to be flying. Goofy must have fallen asleep. Once we got closer to the ground, we stopped what we were doing to prepare to land on the ground. Once we got close, we landed our feet onto the ground rather gently. However, Goofy turned and landed face first. That woke him up from his nap.

I looked over to see the rabbit ahead of us. He was still running ahead. He shouted, “Oh, my fur and whiskers! I’m late, I’m late, I’m late! Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! I’m here, I should be there. I’m late, I’m late, I’m late! The queen, she’ll have my head for sure!”

The queen? What queen? Was he working for her or something? I turned to look at Sora, who looked determined to go after the rabbit. I wondered if it was even a good idea to go after the rabbit after hearing that. Was she a rabbit queen or something? Were we in the land of rabbits or something? It looked like a wonderland if you asked me.

Sora spoke. “You guys, let’s go after him!”

Goofy got up onto his feet and said, “Sora, you sure are determined to go after that rabbit.”

“Because he might know something,” Sora replied. “Let’s go!”

Sora ran ahead. Kairi sighed before she, Ian, Meg, Donald, and Goofy followed behind. Sara and I looked at each other. We turned back to the others before following behind. We ran down the odd halls before we stopped at a door. The rabbit must have ran in there. Sora was the one to open the door. It only revealed a smaller door. I looked at it, giving it a funny look. Another door? Sora opened that one, revealing a smaller door. Then a smaller door, and another smaller door, and finally, a tiny door that we would have to crawl through.

“What the heck!?” Sora asked, then opened that door to reveal another room. “What  _ is _ this world!?”

“Wonderland?” Meg asked.

“What? How do you know that?” Sara asked.

“Because think about it,” Meg commented. “It’s a world of insanity. Wonderland is a term for people who are insane-” She gasped. “What if we don’t remember anything!? What if the rabbit we just met was a drug dealer we spoke to, we took some drugs from him, and now our minds think we’re in some kind of surreal world!?”

… What? I didn’t know if that made any sense or not. I was sure that I would have remembered meeting a drug dealer. Perhaps this was just another world. Why would our minds think we were somewhere else? Sora looked at Meg funny before he shouted, “That makes no sense!”

“Well, who’s going to go through that door first?” Kairi questioned.

“I will!” Meg shouted, raising her hand.

“Meg, you’re awfully excited to do that,” Kairi said.

“So?” Meg asked.

“Aren’t you worried?”

Meg giggled. “No.”

Meg approached the small door. How were we going to fit through the door? Meg was slightly more average sized than the rest of us. I worried she wouldn’t be able to get through. Meg began to crawl through the door… Only to have her hips stuck on the door. Meg tried to pull through it, but it proved useless. We all looked at each other with concern as Meg tried to pull through it. We looked back at Meg.

“Meg, are you okay?” Sora asked.

“No, I’m stuck!” Meg shouted. “Does anyone have soap!?”

Sara raised an eyebrow. “Why would we-”

“Here you go!” Goofy exclaimed, pulling out a bottle of soap.

Donald looked at Goofy funny. “You have a bottle of soap…?”

“I brought a lot of stuff with me so we don’t get germs,” Goofy replied.

Sora took the bottle of soap. “Thank you.” Sora approached Meg, as did Kairi. I stood in place, watching them as they knelt down to Meg. “Meg,” Sora spoke. “We’re going to put soap on your hips, okay? Don’t be alarmed.”

“Goofy had soap!?” Meg asked.

“Yeah,” Kairi answered. “Now hold on.”

Sora opened the bottle of soap to put in his hand. He put some on Kairi’s hands, who held them out to get the soap. They rubbed soap on their hands before they began to rub their hands on each side of Meg’s hips, making Meg laugh and shout, “That tickles!” Meg jerked her hips a bit, although not much since she was stuck. They rubbed some soap on her shorts as well, hoping it would be slick enough to get her through. Sora handed the bottle of soap back to Goofy before wiping his hands on his clothes. Kairi wiped the soap off her hands with a cloth she had on her.

“Okay, that should do it,” Kairi commented, putting the cloth back into her pocket. “Meg, are you ready?”

“I have no other choice, do I?” Meg asked before she gave an answer. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

“Okay, ready?” Kairi spoke, having Sora and Kairi place their hands on each of her legs. “One, two, three!”

They pushed on her as fast as they could, making Meg yell out in pain before she slid on through, almost having her shorts yank downward from the door that got her stuck in the first place. Once she got through, I noticed through the door she had pulled up her shorts rather quickly. Good thing no one saw her underwear or anything like that. “I made it!” Meg shouted.

“Do you see anything in there?” Kairi asked.

“It looks like an empty room with a couch, a fireplace, and another small door in here, tinier than this one!” Meg answered.

_ “Oh, great…” _ I thought to myself.  _ “How will we get past that door?” _

Donald went next, snatching the soap from him before placing some on his hips. He handed it back to Goofy, who placed the bottle of soap in his pocket. Donald approached the door before he tried to crawl under it. Just as he had gotten stuck, the soap had him slide on through. The rest of us didn’t need soap. We could slide on through thanks to the soap that got attached to the door. Kairi climbed under and made it to the other side, then Goofy, then Sara, then Ian, and then Sora. Sora called for me. “Come on, Cat!”

I especially didn’t need soap. I was too tiny, almost prematurely tiny. Maybe I was prematurely tiny. I frowned as I looked at my body, seeing how small I was. If something inside me got worse… It could kill me. Sora called my name again before I knelt down and crawled through easily. I didn’t even need to take anyone’s hand. I got up on my feet. We looked around the room. It was just a simple room with a couch, a fireplace, and a tinier door. We all approached the door before we knelt down towards it.

“How did he get so small?” Sora asked.

“No, you’re simply too big,” the doorknob spoke.

… Did that doorknob just talk? Startled, we nearly jumped at the sight of a talking doorknob. Sora gave it a funny look. Donald gasped and shouted, “It talks!” Kairi looked as though she saw a ghost. Sara didn’t even look shocked anymore. Goofy looked at the doorknob curiously. Meg tried not to laugh. Ian snorted a bit. I was unsure what to think of this.

“I thought it was just talking animals,” Meg commented. “But now I’m so confused. Items talk too?”

“I guess so…” Kairi replied.

The doorknob yawned. “Must you be so loud? You woke me up.”

Goofy smiled and waved. “Good morning.”

“Good night!” the doorknob replied. “I need a bit more sleep.”

“Wait, what do we have to do to grow small?” Sora asked.

“Why don’t you try the bottle… over there?” the doorknob answered.

We turned around to see a table had appeared with two bottles there. Where did that come from? We stood up and approached the table. Each of them had the words, “Drink me,” on it. But… which one did we drink? Sora was the one to ask, “Anyone want to go first?”

Meg shook her head. “Not me this time. I already got stuck a moment before.”

Sora sighed. “I’ll do it.” He took the red bottle and began to drink it. “Maybe this will-” Sora screamed upon growing into a giant. The rest of us screamed and ran back, escaping from Sora’s growth. Sora’s head hit the ceiling, now a giant person. Sora frowned. “Well… wrong bottle…”

The others and I looked at each other and started to giggle. Sora groaned, stuck in place, before he moved his hand to pick up the blue bottle. He drank just a tiny bit before he began to grow small again. Now, he was now smaller than a barbie doll. We all approached him. Sora looked up at us and glared.

“It’s your turn!” Sora shouted at us.

“Okay, okay,” Kairi replied before drinking the blue bottle.

After that, she grew as tiny as Sora. Sara drank it next, then grew small. Same thing happened to Ian when he drank it. Donald drank it next and grew smaller. Goofy was next, then grew smaller. Meg frowned before she took the bottle and wiped on the tip with her shirt. She must have not wanted to taste someone’s saliva or something. Meg drank a little before she grew small as well. I was the last one to take it. I drank the bottle, which tasted like blueberries. It was the last liquid in there before it was empty. I didn’t mind the taste. It actually tasted good. I shrunk to be there size, feeling my body go through a change. It was an odd sensation, but once I was small, it stopped.

“Okay,” Sora spoke. “Let’s go-” When we turned to the door, the doorknob was asleep. “Uh, hello?” Sora spoke again. “Can we get through?” The doorknob said nothing, still sleeping. “Oh, great…”

“Uh, guys,” Goofy spoke, pointing towards a crack on the wall. “I think I found a way through. Come on!”

Goofy was the first to crawl through the cracked hole. We might as well try it if the doorknob wouldn’t help us anymore. I was the second one to crawl through, following Goofy. For once, I wasn’t last. Others followed behind us. Once we made it to the other side, we noticed a courtroom outside in the maze, a place that looked like it belonged to a kingdom of sorts. Maybe it was a kingdom. I looked ahead to see there were a pack of cards dressed in armor with weapons in their hand. Wait… live cards playing as guards? They moved out of the way and formed a line.

The rabbit was there, now dressed in a suit that looked as though he was an advisor of sorts. He held a fanfare trumpet in his hand before he blew on it, indicating court was starting. The one on trial looked to be a ten year old girl with long blonde hair, a blue dress, a white apron, and black shoes with odd socks on. She didn’t look like she belonged here. She looked like she belonged in the world above. The judge looked to be a queen, wearing a black and red dress and a small crown over her head. She looked overweight. We all watched the court from a distance.

“Court is now in session!” the rabbit declared.

“I’m on trial?” the little girl asked. “But why?”

“Her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts, presiding!” the rabbit declared.

A king, who looked to be smaller than a child, pointed at himself, sitting next to the queen.

The rabbit said, “And the king…”

The queen looked down at the little girl. “This girl is the culprit. There’s no doubt about it. And the reason is… because I say so, that’s why!”

“That is so unfair!” the little girl shouted.

“Well, have you anything to say in your defense?” the queen asked.

“Of course!” the little girl declared. “I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong! You may be queen, but I’m afraid that doesn’t give you the right to be so… so mean!”

“Silence!” the queen shouted. “You dare defy me?”

We all stood in the distance as we watched this chaotic courtroom. This looked like the most unfair trial there was. Sora was the one to speak. “Hey, guys, we should help her out.” I agreed with Sora, although I didn’t actually say it. Something about this screamed trouble. There were already bad cases of kids who were imprisoned before they were truly able to understand from right to wrong. Some even were put in prison for life before they even reached their teenage years. It was a situation that left me feeling sad and angry at the same time.

“Yeah, but the-” Donald tried to say.

Goofy asked, “We’re outsiders, so wouldn’t that be muddling?”

“‘Meddling’!” Donald corrected.

“Oh, yeah.” Goofy chuckled. “And that’s against the rules.”

“Well, some rules are meant to be broken,” I finally spoke up, having everyone turn to look at me.

“Cat?” Kairi asked. “That’s the first time we heard you speak since we got here. Why do you think that?”

“Because the court can be corrupted,” I said. “And I don’t want to see another child go to jail.”

“She’s got a point,” Ian commented.

“I agree there,” Sara commented.

The trial continued regardless whether the others had a conversation or not. The queen spoke. “The court finds the defendant… guilty as charged!” No. This was too corrupted. I wanted to cry. I couldn’t watch this anymore. “For the crime of assault and attempted theft of my heart…” We all gasped upon hearing that. The Heartless were here! That’s why she said that! Where were they though? Surely they weren’t working for her… right? “Off with her head!”

“No! No! Oh, please!” the little girl begged.

I was the one to speak and rush into the courtroom. “No! Stop!”

“Cat, no!” Donald cried out.

It was too late. I had rushed forward. Everyone turned their attention towards us. I froze in place. My face grew pale when I realized I was the center of attention now. I was scared. Yet I couldn’t just watch a girl get executed just for being an innocent kid. The others rushed over by my side to defend me when needed.

“Who are you?” the queen asked me, then looked at the others. “How dare you interfere with my court?”

“Excuse me,” Sora spoke. “But we know who the real culprit is!”

“Uh-huh,” Goofy said. “It’s the Heartle-” He quickly covered his own mouth, trying to avoid giving out any outside information.

Kairi spoke. “What they’re trying to say is that she’s not the one you’re looking for.”

“That’s nonsense,” the queen said.

“My queen,” the king spoke. “Perhaps if you just… give them a chance to prove who the real culprit is? If they can’t, then we know Alice is guilty.”

“Hmph.” The queen patted the king’s head before looking at us. “Have you any proof?”

“Uh…” Sora paused, blinking a few times.

“No…?” Meg spoke nervously, chuckling a bit.

With that, the queen ordered Alice to be locked up, in which two card guards grabbed her and dragged her towards the cage. They threw her in there and locked her in. I felt sick to my stomach watching her become imprisoned. I had never actually seen a child get imprisoned, but had heard horror stories about it. It was a corrupted system, even in other worlds. I looked at Alice with a frown.

“Bring me evidence of Alice’s innocence!” the queen ordered. “Fail, and it’s off with all of your heads! Gather as much little evidence as you please.”

I couldn’t help it. I ran towards the cage and looked at the little girl. She had the same blonde hair as I did, only mine was slightly lighter than hers. The others followed behind. I didn’t know what to say to her to cheer her up. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. How were we able to find evidence and prove Alice’s innocence? Well, we knew it was the Heartless, but how did we prove that without giving out anything?

“Who are you?” Alice asked us.

“I’m Sora,” Sora introduced. “This is Kairi.” He pointed towards Kairi, who smiled. He soon pointed at Sara. “That’s my sister, Sara. And this is our cousin, Ian.” He pointed at Ian.

“Hello,” Kairi said with a nod.

“I’m Goofy, and that there’s Donald,” Goofy introduced.

“I’m Megan, but call me Meg!” Meg introduced. “And this is Catrina, but call her Cat.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Alice greeted. “Though I do wish it were under better circumstances. I’m sorry you got mixed up in all this.”

“It was my fault,” Cat commented. “Because of me, everyone got involved. I just wanted to help you.”

“Why are you on trial in the first place?” Sara asked.

“I should like to know the very same thing!” Alice exclaimed. “Apparently I was guilty from the moment I took the stand!”

“That’s insane!” Meg exclaimed.

“So… Where are you from?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Hmm, curious,” Alice answered. “I can’t quite remember. You see, I found this mysterious rabbit hole. When I tried to peek inside, I tumbled in head over heels… And I found myself here.”

Was she not from the world above this one? Could it be she was from another world too? You’re from another world,” I whispered.

“That’s funny,” Goofy replied. “Maybe you don’t need a ship, then.”

“I don’t get it,” Donald replied back.

“What do you mean ‘another world’?” Alice asked me.

“Enough!” the guard beside the cat shouted. “The defendant will be silent!”

We didn’t say anything after that. Another guard stepped over and began to push us back rather roughly, almost making us stumble. I called over to Alice, “We will free you! I promise!” We were pushed back before we were forced to turn and walk away from the court. We were forced to walk off towards another exit, hoping to find some evidence there.

* * *

Once we found ourselves in the middle of the grassy woods, we turned our head side by side. We didn’t know where to even look. We moved forward, hoping to find something. There were no Heartless around from what I knew. If there were, we could have just tried to bring one back. Then again, that Heartless would have killed us before we brought it back. If we died, that meant Alice would have died too. We had to stay alive to save her and the rest of the world. We couldn’t fail her now.

“Hey, Cat?” Meg spoke, making me look over at her. “I’m proud of you.”

“For what?” I asked.

“For standing up for that girl,” Meg answered. “Alice, I think. I didn’t think you would have the guts to interrupt a courtroom to save her.”

I couldn’t help but make a small smile. “Neither did I. Thanks for coming in to help when I got quiet again.”

“Of course,” Meg answered as she moved closer towards me. “You did good.”

We heard Sora yell, making us turn our head. Kairi, Sara, Ian, Donald, and Goofy looked just as startled. We approached them from behind. “What’s going on?” Meg asked, looked at the others. They all turned to look at her.

“There was a purple cat’s head floating around!” Sara shouted.

“A what?” Meg asked.

Before anyone else said anything, Meg and I noticed the cat’s head floating around, making Meg yell while I gasped. Everyone turned around and saw it. The cat’s head would disappear, then reappear somewhere else. It kept doing this for a minute until we turned to see it up on a tree. The rest of their body stood on the cat’s head, their foot right on the head. The body then got off, picked up the head, and placed it on their head. It was a purple cat with dark purple stripes. That was one strange cat…

“WHO ARE YOU!?” Donald shouted.

“Who, indeed?” the cat asked. “Poor Alice. Soon to lose her head, and she’s not guilty of a thing!”

Sora glared up at the cat. “Hey, if you know who the culprit is, tell us!”

“The Cheshire Cat has all the answers,” the cat answered, “but doesn’t always tell. The answer, the culprit, the cat all lie in darkness.” The cat began to vanish.

“Wait!” Meg called. “What are you talking about!?”

“They’ve already left the forest,” the cat replied, having become invisible. “I won’t tell which exit. There are four pieces of evidence in all. Three are a cinch to find. The fourth is tricky. Big reward if you find them all.”

“Should we trust him…?” Kairi asked.

The cat reappeared and said, “To trust, or not to trust? I trust you’ll decide!” With that, the cat vanished again, leaving us behind.

“So four pieces of evidence…” Ian commented. “What does he mean…? What kind of evidence are we even looking for?”

“What if it’s a trick?” I asked.

“It can’t be,” Sora replied. “We’ll have to look and see. It’s our only option left.”

“You guys!” someone called to us, making us turn around to look. It was Roxy, running towards us while wearing a summer hat with a short dress on and long boots, having disguised herself to avoid looking like a Heartless. Isabelle was right behind her. “We found you!” Roxy declared.

“Roxy! Isabelle!” Kairi exclaimed.

“It’s about time we found you guys,” we heard someone say, making me look to see it was Rory who spoke.

Roxy, Isabelle, Rory, Tiff, Trish, Lance, Phoebe, Raine, and Drake had all approached us. They looked as tired as we were, and nervous. Did something happen to them? Sora asked, “How did you get past the courtroom?”

“Well, we started out from some place called England,” Tiff explained as she crossed her arms. “Then Rory said there was a rabbit hole he thought he’d check out since he thought he saw you guys. We all followed and fell down the damn rabbit hole. Or they did. I just jumped in to get them. Then we ended up here. Then we had to shrink to your size to get through some cracked wall by drinking a bottle. Well, Rory drank the wrong bottle before drinking the other to grow small. As for the courtroom… They literally thought we were culprits and tried to execute us on the spot… We had to run and find you guys to be sure they didn’t kill you.”

“Well, Tiff had ripped some cards apart with her sword before running,” Trish said.

“Yes, I did,” Tiff replied.

“Are you eight okay?” Phoebe asked.

“We’re fine,” Kairi answered. “Thanks.”

“So, what’s this about evidence you have to find?” Drake questioned, crossing his arms as he raised an eyebrow.

“It’s a long story, so here’s the abridged version,” Sora spoke. “See, there’s this little girl named Alice who was put on trial for something the Heartless did. So we have to find evidence to free her, or she’s going to cut all our heads off.”

“... Wonderful,” Drake said.

“Does the queen know what they are?” Phoebe asked.

“Nope,” Meg answered. “We’re trying to hide the name from her.”

“... Why?”

“World order,” Donald answered.

Just as the others continued their conversation, I turned around and noticed a group of Heartless on the trees, looking down at us. Some were on the trunk of the tree, ready to attack. My eyes grew wide as I stood at the Heartless, trembling as I summoned my Keyblade. Some were in armor. Some were shadows. Some were larger than the others, although not as big as that Guard Armor Heartless we faced.

“Guys,” I spoke. “Guys, guys, guys, get out your weapons. Hurry, now!”

“What? Why?” Lance asked.

“JUST DO IT!” I raised my voice. “HURRY, HURRY, NOW!”

Just as they did, a Heartless had jumped on top of Meg, making her scream and land on her back. Before it could rip her heart out, Sora had quickly swung his Keyblade and struck it. Others turned to the Heartless, who launched at the rest of us. We were surrounded. They jumped on some people, quickly being pushed off or saved by another. I swung my Keyblade, killing at least two Heartless. I turned to see Ian being jumped on by Heartless, who attempted to bite him.

“OH, GOD!” Ian cried out.

I rushed over and swung my Keyblade, striking each Heartless. I continued to hit them until they disappeared back into darkness. Before I could help Ian get up, one of them had jumped on my back, making me scream and fall forward. They had bit into my shoulder, a sharp pain stabbing through it. I cried out even louder, feeling the sharp pain dig into my skin to my blood. I tried to push it off, but it continued to eat me alive.

“CAT!” Sora, Meg, and Kairi cried out as they rushed over.

However, the Heartless had gotten off, making an odd sound. I turned my head to see the Heartless fall down, dead. It was choking, and had died as a result. I looked at my shoulder. It wasn’t just red blood, but was a mix of black blood leaving my skin. The poison in my blood. The Heartless had quickly covered their noses and stepped back. They quickly disappeared. Everyone fell silent, now staring at me. I wanted them to stop. I didn’t want them to look at me. I wanted to disappear. I didn’t want to be here anymore. I was exposed, and they would hate me.

“Cat!?” Kairi asked. “What’s wrong with your shoulder!?”

“She was bit, but…” Meg trailed off.

“Did the Heartless poison her!?” Goofy quickly asked.

“No,” Lance answered. “I’ve seen this blood before.”

“As have I,” Drake replied.

Raine, the girl who was much more quiet than I was, looked at me with horror in her eyes. Was she afraid of me? Rory approached me and helped me onto my feet. I wanted to get away fast. I didn’t want to be here anymore. Rory examined me. Rory froze, staring at it. I was the center of attention now. I didn’t even want to be noticed.

“This isn’t from the Heartless,” Rory declared. “This is from something else.” They looked right at me. “Cat. Do you recall anyone who put black blood into you?”

“What!?” Donald shouted.

I shook my head. “No, I’ve… always had it since I was a baby.”

“What…?” Sara questioned.

“That’s… what I thought…” Rory commented.

“Wait,” Sora spoke up. “You mean to say that you had it this whole time and never told us?”

“Sora!” Meg exclaimed.

“What? I’m just asking!”

“Sora, you guys don’t remember, but I used to hurt people as a toddler with my touch,” I replied. “It’s like I’m cursed to hurt others. I even hurt that guy in Traverse Town when he tried to hurt me.”

“What guy?” Meg asked. “Who do I kill?”

“He’s already been killed by the Heartless,” I answered. “Here. Watch this.”

I stepped away from the group, going towards a large piece of wood. I took off my black gloves and placed them under my arm to hold onto them. I grabbed the log. Before anyone knew it, the log began to melt away, dying. There were bugs that flew out of it quickly. Some dropped dead. The log had died, breaking apart and melting away. I got back up, quickly put back on my gloves, and turned to the others. All of them looked at me as if I were some kind of monster.

“I’m cursed,” I answered. “Really cursed. Perhaps a little mad, too.”

No one said a word. Donald and Goofy looked at each other with concern. Roxy and Isabelle looked concerned as well. Everyone did. Would they send me away? Sora looked at me for a moment before he stepped forward. Kairi and Meg followed behind. None of them said a word. Sora was the one who wrapped his arms around me, holding me close to him. I blinked a few times. Meg was the second one to hug me. What was going on? They weren’t going to reject me? Kairi was third. Before I knew it, Ian and Sara rushed over to hug me as well.

“Are you… guys not going to reject me?” I questioned. “Send me away?”

“Why would we!?” Kairi asked. “You’re still our best friend no matter what. Now more than ever, you need us.”

I didn’t want to be the one who needed people. I didn’t want to distract people from their mission. I just wanted to be a part of the team without anyone feeling sorry for me.

Tears fell from my eyes as I wrapped my arms around the others and whispered, “Thank you.”

Donald and Goofy rushed over and hugged me as well. The others came over and smiled at me. Perhaps it would be okay after all.

* * *

After a touching moment of comforting me, we resumed back to our mission. Meg, Sora, and Kairi refused to leave my side, wanting to be sure I was okay. I was advised by Phoebe not to use my power very often, and just rely on the Keyblade instead. That way, it wouldn’t drain me or kill me. We managed to find at least three boxes, each hiding in the woods. The fourth one was tricky. It was nowhere to be found. We needed one last piece of evidence before we could go back to the queen. Meg couldn’t stop laughing about something. She must have been thinking about something funny.

“What are you giggling about?” Trish asked, trying not to giggle themselves.

“Will you shut up?” Tiff asked her, although she couldn’t stop giggling. “You’re starting to annoy me.”

“Tiff, be nice,” Rory told her, smiling over at her. “She’s just a kid.”

Tiff shrugged. “I guess.”

Meg then commented, “I remember this one time when me and the others were trying to find coconuts, we only had four, and I ended up getting a fifth one to make things more fair since there were five of us. So why not get a fifth piece of evidence?”

“Oh, yeah, the coconut incident…” Sora commented.

“Isn’t that the time we tried to slam open the coconuts and it ended up hitting Sora in the face?” Kairi asked.

“We were little then!” Sora exclaimed. “That still hurt though…”

Rory snorted and began to sing. “I got a lovely bunch of coconuts, and I don’t know the rest of the words.”

Tiff couldn’t help but snort. “You dork.”

I looked over at Rory and smiled. “Hey, Rory? I’m sorry you had to check my wounds like that. I was hoping no one would notice…”

“Huh?” Rory asked, looking at me. “Why are you apologizing? I just wanted to be sure you were okay. No one is mad at you…”

“I know,” I replied. “But I just… I don’t know.”

“It’ll be okay,” Rory replied with a smile. “Really.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

“No problem.”

“So… By the way…” I gulped, hoping not to come off as rude. “You’re nonbinary?”

“Huh?” Rory smiled. “Oh, yeah! I don’t mind if someone calls me ‘he’, but it’d be nice if they respected I didn’t identify with any gender. Just because I was born with a dick doesn’t mean you don’t acknowledge the fact I’m not actually a guy.”

I giggled. “Yeah, that’s true. Trish too, huh?”

“Yep,” Rory replied. “They are. They’re really cool too, and so is Tiff.”

“Is Tiff-?”

“No, she goes by ‘she’.”

“Uh, guys?” Drake spoke, making us turn to look at him. “Yeah, there’s a brown rabbit and a weird bastard in a hat having the weirdest tea party I’ve ever seen.”

“Oh, god,” Trish commented.

“Maybe they know where the evidence is,” Sora commented. “Let’s ask them.”

“UGH!” Sara cried out.

“What?” Sora asked.

“Enough with asking weird people questions, seriously!” Sara shouted.

“You got a better idea?” Sora asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I just hope we don’t end up having a nice cup of tea and singing Disney songs and dressing up, or any of that bullshit,” Tiff commented.

“Let’s go,” Sora replied as he ran ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are appreciated if you enjoyed it!!


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